Minor Injuries, Sprains and Wound Care: GP in Dubai
A twisted ankle, a cut that will not stop bleeding, a kitchen burn, a bite, a wound that has become red and sore: injuries that need cleaning, closing, dressing or checking, without a hospital emergency department. At Smart Care Polyclinic in Deira, a GP assesses and treats minor injuries the same day, arranges an X-ray by referral where a fracture is possible, and refers on where an injury needs more than a clinic can give.
For: sprains, cuts, grazes, burns, bites, infected wounds, splinters
Takes: 15-40 minutes depending on the injury
Price: consultation AED 70 · dressings and closure quoted
What it is
Cuts are cleaned, checked for anything left in them, and closed with adhesive strips, skin glue or stitches depending on the site and depth, then dressed. Tetanus cover is checked and a booster given if it is due. A wound on the face or hand, one over a joint, one that is deep or gaping, or a bite is looked at more carefully because the risks of infection and scarring are higher.
Sprains are examined for the signs that suggest a fracture. Where the examination is reassuring, treatment is rest, ice, compression and elevation with early movement; where bony tenderness or inability to bear weight suggests a break, an X-ray is arranged by referral before anything else.
Burns are cooled, cleaned, dressed and reviewed. Small superficial burns heal with dressings over one to two weeks; burns on the face, hands, feet or genitals, burns that blister widely, or any burn in a child are assessed for referral. Infected wounds — spreading redness, warmth, pus, or a fever — are treated with cleaning and antibiotics and reviewed within days.
What goes to the emergency department instead
Heavy bleeding that does not stop with pressure, an obvious deformity, a wound to the eye, a head injury with vomiting or confusion, a deep burn, or a bite to the face or hand that is already infected. The clinic will say so on the phone rather than see you and send you on.
Aftercare
Keep the dressing clean and dry for the time advised, watch for spreading redness or increasing pain, and return for a wound check or stitch removal at the date given — typically five to seven days on the face and ten to fourteen elsewhere.
The consultation, and what follows from it
GP consultation
Assessment, examination and a plan with every cost stated before anything further is done.
AED 70 was AED 130
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Questions patients ask
Yes, for cuts that are suitable for closure in a clinic, under local anaesthetic. Complex or heavily contaminated wounds are referred.
If it is more than ten years since your last booster, or five for a dirty or deep wound, or you are unsure, yes. It is given at the visit.
X-rays are arranged by referral to an imaging centre nearby when the examination suggests a fracture; the GP examines first so that unnecessary X-rays are avoided.
This guide is general information, not advice about you. A GP's assessment depends on your history and examination, which is why the consultation exists.