Dubai: In an emotional gesture to reach out to the elderly population of the UAE in Fujairah to let them know they were loved and not forgotten, a delegation, headed by Eisa Al Maidour, Director-General of the Dubai Health Authority (DHA), conducted a three day home-visit programme for geriatric patients in Fujairah.
The DHA’s home visit programme in Fujairah is part of the Shaikh Mohammed Bin Rashid initiative for elderly health. The Authority has been providing continuous home-care services to elderly patients in Fujairah who need such services and has recently expanded its service to add newer areas under the programme.
Throwing light on various aspects of geriatric care, Al Maidour said: “The DHA pays significant emphasis to its geriatric services and home-care is a fundamental part of that. The programme is comprehensive and provides home-based preventive, curative, rehabilitative services for the elderly. The aim of this programme is to provide such services for the elderly population who cannot visit a hospital for their medical condition, thus ensuring that their convenience is taken into consideration. We also ensure all aspects such as environmental factors are taken into consideration so that the elderly patient’s home is modified to make it safe for the patient and to improve the quality of their life.”
Dr Manal Taryam, CEO of Primary Health Care at the DHA, said: “The DHA has formed a comprehensive team comprising five doctors, seven nurses, six physiotherapists, one dietician, two social workers and three administrative staff to manage the home-care programme in Fujairah. In the last three days, the team has seen 57 patients of which 36 were follow-up cases and 21 new cases.”
Dr Manal added: “Home-care service for the elderly is an extremely comprehensive programme. It includes medical, psycho-social , environmental and functional assessment. It is important to ensure the environment is safe to protect patients from falls, geriatricians recommend ways to make the environment more secure, e.g.: adjusting height of beds, recommend installing anti-slip tiles if needed. Geriatricians visit the home of these patients every two weeks to three months as needed.”
Dr Amal Al Jaziri, head of elderly care unit at the DHA’s primary healthcare sector, said, “For cases that require rehabilitation therapy, geriatricians refer the patients for home-based physiotherapy services. Physiotherapists visit the patients, assess them and prepare a regular rehabilitation care plan. The aim of the plan is to ensure patients can be as functionally independent as possible.”
