Dubai: All hospitals in Dubai must be internationally accredited and must work towards obtaining it in order to sustain high quality of health services and ensure patient-safety, a top health official has said.
Following the Dubai Health Authority’s health regulation mandate (DHA), Eisa Al Maidoor, Director-General of the Dubai Health Authority, said that “all hospitals in Dubai must be internationally accredited, and we are pleased to see that hospitals either already have the accreditation or are in process of obtaining it”.
Al Maidoor said Dubai has a dynamic sector and recognises more than 20 international accreditations for health care facilities, “and thus the health sector in Dubai has several options to choose from in terms of seeking international accreditations.”
He also said that many hospitals that are accredited, work towards reaccreditation on a regular basis because of the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) mandate.
Obtaining international accreditations for the health sector of Dubai comes in line with the vision of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and is also in line with the Dubai Health Strategy 2013-2025, Al Maidoor added.
“International accreditations are important to benchmark ourselves at an international level and accreditations are a tool to ensure delivery of safe and high-quality services for our population and visitors alike. Accreditations also provide a boost to the medical tourism.”
Dubai has come a long way in terms of international accreditations since this programme began in 2007 when only one private hospital was internationally accredited.
Today, Dubai has 25 private hospitals, of which, two will be downgraded to day-care centres. Presently 18 hospitals are accredited and 5 are under process, of which two are new hospitals, and will begin the accreditation process after being operational for 18 months.
In terms of the public sector, the accreditation journey for the DHA began in 2007 where many hospitals were internationally credited in that year and reaccredited in the following years like the Dubai hospital, Latifa Hospital (previously known as Al Wasl) and Rashid Hospital.
DHA’s Thalassaemia Centre, the Airport Medical Centre and The Dubai Blood Donation Centre were also all internationally accredited and then reaccredited.
