Only 9.4% of UAE health facilities with published hours are open 24/7

Only 9.4% of UAE healthcare facilities that publish opening hours are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, according to the Zavis UAE After-hours Care Index. Of 7,434 facilities with published hours on their Google Business listings, 701 list round-the-clock opening.

Evening care is far more common. Another 3,429 facilities, or 46.1%, stay open until 22:00 or later at least five days a week without being open 24/7. For patients, that means a clinic or pharmacy is often open late in the evening but rarely through the night. For operators and insurers, the index shows which facility types, cities and neighbourhoods offer few or no overnight options. Weekend access is wide: 90.5% of facilities list hours on Friday.

Hospitals and pharmacies carry round-the-clock care

Hospitals & Medical Centers are the only type of facility in the index where more than half are open 24/7. Zavis analysis shows 83 of 148, or 56.1%, list round-the-clock hours.

Pharmacies are the other main source of overnight access. Of 2,325 pharmacies with published hours, 406 are open 24/7, a share of 17.5%.

Outpatient care looks very different. General Clinics & Polyclinics are the largest category in the index, with 3,047 facilities with hours. Only 99 of them, or 3.2%, are open 24/7. Among Dental Clinics, 11 of 630 list 24/7 hours, a share of 1.7%. In Pediatrics & Child Health, one of 27 facilities with published hours is open around the clock.

For a parent or a patient with a minor complaint after midnight, the listed options are mostly a hospital or a pharmacy, not a clinic.

Round-the-clock share by type of facility

Type	Facilities with hours	Open 24/7	24/7 share (%)
General Clinics & Polyclinics	3,047	99	3.2
Pharmacies	2,325	406	17.5
Dental Clinics	630	11	1.7
Hospitals & Medical Centers	148	83	56.1
Pediatrics & Child Health	27	1	3.7

Abu Dhabi and Al Ain lean to 24/7; northern cities lean to late evenings

Dubai has the most facilities with published hours, at 4,096. Of these, 388, or 9.5%, are open 24/7, and 1,790, or 43.7%, are open late at least five days a week.

Abu Dhabi's 24/7 share is 13.2%, with 202 of 1,525 facilities open around the clock. In Al Ain, 46 of 409 facilities, or 11.2%, are open 24/7. Both cities have lower late-opening shares than Dubai, at 38.2% and 41.3%.

Sharjah and the northern emirates show the opposite pattern. In Sharjah, 34 of 902 facilities, or 3.8%, are open 24/7, but 57.9% open late at least five days a week. Ajman's late-opening share is 72.1%, against a 24/7 share of 7%. Umm Al Quwain and Ras Al Khaimah each have one 24/7 facility in the index, with late-opening shares of 74.6% and 79.2%. The Ras Al Khaimah figures rest on only 24 facilities with published hours.

The pharmacy figures follow the same pattern. In Abu Dhabi, 127 of 510 pharmacies with hours, or 24.9%, are open 24/7. Dubai's share is 18.2% (208 of 1,143) and Al Ain's is 19.1%. In Sharjah, 23 of 313 pharmacies, or 7.3%, list 24/7 hours. None of the nine pharmacies with hours in Ras Al Khaimah does.

After-hours access by city

City	Facilities with hours	Open 24/7	24/7 share (%)	Open late 5+ days	Late share (%)
Dubai	4,096	388	9.5	1,790	43.7
Abu Dhabi	1,525	202	13.2	582	38.2
Sharjah	902	34	3.8	522	57.9
Ajman	416	29	7	300	72.1
Al Ain	409	46	11.2	169	41.3
Umm Al Quwain	59	1	1.7	44	74.6
Ras Al Khaimah	24	1	4.2	19	79.2

Where 24/7 care clusters

Al Barsha in Dubai tops the neighbourhood list, with 66 facilities open 24/7 out of 297 with published hours. Deira follows with 44 out of 447, then Al Ain Central with 38 out of 350.

A busy area does not always have many round-the-clock options. Jumeirah has 526 facilities with hours but 18 open 24/7. Smaller areas reach similar totals: Yas Island has 16 facilities open 24/7 out of 89, and Al Garhoud has 16 out of 93. Dubai neighbourhoods make up most of the list. Mussafah and Yas Island represent Abu Dhabi, and Al Ain Central represents Al Ain.

Neighbourhoods with the most 24/7 facilities

Area	City	Open 24/7	Facilities with hours
Al Barsha	Dubai	66	297
Deira	Dubai	44	447
Al Ain Central	Al Ain	38	350
Bur Dubai	Dubai	23	240
Jumeirah	Dubai	18	526
Mussafah	Abu Dhabi	16	170
Al Garhoud	Dubai	16	93
Al Qusais	Dubai	16	166
Yas Island	Abu Dhabi	16	89
Al Quoz	Dubai	14	111

Busy neighbourhoods with no 24/7 listing

Zavis analysis also identifies busy neighbourhoods where no facility lists 24/7 hours. Sharjah takes the first three places on that list.

Al Qasimia in Sharjah has 58 facilities with published hours, and 41 of them open late at least five days a week. None is listed as open 24/7. Al Nahda in Sharjah has 39 facilities with hours and 31 open late. Sharjah City Center has 26 and 19. Outside Sharjah, Al Mushrif in Abu Dhabi has 23 facilities with hours, 10 of them open late, and Al Jurf in Ajman has 19, with 14 open late.

In these areas, the latest listed option on most nights is a facility that closes at or after 22:00. After that, residents must travel to another neighbourhood for listed overnight care.

Busy neighbourhoods with no 24/7 facility listed

Area	City	Facilities with hours	Open late 5+ days
Al Qasimia	Sharjah	58	41
Al Nahda	Sharjah	39	31
Sharjah City Center	Sharjah	26	19
Al Mushrif	Abu Dhabi	23	10
Al Jurf	Ajman	19	14

What it means

Operators: The data show where overnight hours are scarce. These include outpatient clinics across the country, Sharjah's 3.8% 24/7 share and neighbourhoods such as Al Qasimia, where no facility lists 24/7 hours. Late opening is already common in the northern emirates, so the gap there is overnight, not evening.

Insurers: Night-time access in member networks depends largely on hospitals and pharmacies. Network reviews may need to check overnight coverage by neighbourhood, not just by city.

Patients: Check a facility's listed hours before travelling at night, and call ahead if possible. The hours in this index are self-published by facilities on Google and have not been verified by phone. Another 4,838 active listings publish no readable weekly hours and are not counted, so some open facilities may be missing from these figures.