Dubai: The Dubai Healthcare City Authority (DHCA) announced on Wednesday plans to be the first national accrediting body in the UAE for hospitals and clinics in the free zone.
The authority, which is the governing body of the Dubai Healthcare City (DHCC), said its announcement is in line with the UAE Vision 2021 of health authorities achieving a world-class health care system. An integral part of this vision is to have all public and private hospitals accredited according to national and international quality standards.
The Dubai Healthcare City Authority - Regulatory (DHCR), the independent regulatory arm of DHCA, has signed an agreement with consultancy institution Health Care Accreditation Council (HCAC) in Jordan to facilitate the regulator’s process to receive accreditation as an organisation from the International Society for Quality in Healthcare (ISQua).
The ISQua, a global leader in assessing the standards in health care safety and quality, is the only organisation that ‘accredits the accreditation agencies’.
“With the mandatory accreditation and rapid growth of the health care sector in the UAE, our health system requires national accrediting bodies in the long-term to be cost-effective and sustainable. As the body responsible for setting standards and improving the quality of care, Dubai Healthcare City Authority – Regulatory, will expand its scope to be recognised as a national accrediting body,” said Dr Ramadan Al Beloushi, CEO, DHCR.
The DHCR is expected to obtain the accreditation by 2020.
Once accredited, the DHCR, as part of its scope, will be able to accredit hospitals within the DHCC and branches of DHCC-based hospitals across the different free zones in the emirate as well as extend the accreditation to any health care provider that seeks accreditation.
“We will be able to assess, track and monitor performance by hospitals as well as outpatient clinics. We will also be able to have greater oversight and drive improvements in quality in the free zone and for other industry stakeholders,” said Al Beloushi.
The Health Care Accreditation Council will work closely with the DHCR for the entire accreditation process.
The DHCR is the first independent organisation in the region to attain ISQua accreditation for developing outpatient clinics’ standards in 2009. Last year, the body received the third consecutive cycle of accreditation for its Dubai Outpatient Clinic Quality Standards valid until April 2021.
