It's less than the international bench mark of 45 to 50%, says DHA's Al Murooshid

Thursday, April 05, 2012

Mortality rate in Dubai hospitals' Intensive Care Units (ICUs) have dropped substantially, thanks to the latest technology and qualified personnel in the hospitals, said a senior official.

Qadhi Saeed Al Murooshid, Director-General of Dubai Health Authority, said: Our ICU's have highly qualified personnel, state-of-the-art medical equipment and this has directly helped reduce our mortality rates in ICUs from 60 per cent to 35 per cent, which is less than the international bench mark of 45 to 50 per cent."

He was speaking at the 8th Emirates Critical Care Conference which opened in Dubai Festival City today. The conference will discuss 100 scientific papers, through 25 sessions and 125 lectures, with participation of 60 keynote speakers.

"This conference is of significant importance because it discusses advances in critical care, which is crucial to alleviate the suffering of trauma patients. The DHA recognises the importance of this field and therefore over the years we have built various Intensive Care Units (ICUs) across our hospitals," he added.

Dr Hussain Nasser Al Rahma, the President of the Conference, President of the International Pan Arab Critical Care Medicine Society, Chairman of the Emirates Intensive Care Society and head of ICU, Dubai Hospital, said that the convening of this conference is important because critical care is an ever evolving field.

During the conference, three training courses will be held for around 50 leading professionals from the Dubai Health Authority, the Army, the Police, the Ambulance and the National Crisis Authority.

He said the Conference includes 10 workshops, in which healthcare professionals from six Gulf countries will be trained on the new devices used at the Intensive Care units.

He said: "We will also discuss new therapeutic systems used in intensive Care units, including the nutrition system, the management of sepsis system, fighting microbes system, and safety and patient care system."

He added that the conference will discuss several topics including anesthesia, sepsis, managing emergency cases in Intensive Care Units across all medical specialties, such as kidney diseases, respiratory diseases, neurological diseases, head injury and trauma patients.

Thirty countries participated at the conference; they include USA, Chile, Colombia, Brasil, Argentina, Belgium, France, Germany, Spain, India, Korea, China, Hong Kong, Japan, the GCC countries, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Sudan and South Africa.

The conference, is organized by MCI and is held in conjunction in with the 4th Asia Africa conference of the World Federation of Societies of Intensive and Critical Care Medicine (WFSICCM), 8th International Pan Arab Critical Care Medicine Society, the 1st Neuro-Critical Care Middle East North Africa Conference, and 1st Global Sepsis Alliance-Gulf.

Hospitals told to prominently display patients' rights

The Health Regulation Department of the Dubai Health Authority is encouraging healthcare facilities to prominently display patients' bill of rights in their facilities.

Dr Ramadan Ibrahim, Director of DHA Health Regulation said that most facilities are already following this practise, as the DHA has been actively raising awareness on this issue; however, there is a need to regularly inform healthcare facilities. 

He said this is one of the integral aspects in terms of educating every patient about their rights when they visit a healthcare facility.

He also added that the department regularly carries out inspections across all healthcare facilities to ensure that they are adhering to all the rules and regulations which are aimed to provide high quality of healthcare for the population and visitors.

He said that one of the criterions during the inspection is patients' rights and checking whether the facilities prominently display materials on the subject.  Healthcare facilities have been informed to display patients' bill of rights in areas which are visible and easily accessible to all patients such as outpatient waiting rooms, lifts, corridors and entrances. Healthcare facilities that do not adhere to this practise are notified of the same.

Dr. Layla Mohamed Al Marzouqi, Head of Clinical Governance Office, DHA Health Regulation Department said: "One of the fundamental rights of a patient is to lodge a complaint if they are not satisfied with the medical services provided to them. Therefore, displaying this message helps them become aware of their rights. Over the last few years, we have seen different types of complaints being lodged and this is because there has been an increase in the awareness levels across both patients and healthcare facilities."

Dr Marzouqi said in 2011, the department received 276 complaints against public and private hospitals in the Emirate.

She added that the department has recently simplified their medical investigation process.  "The new medical investigation process is simplified in several ways. The medical complaint investigation committee does not require having a legal representative anymore. Legal representatives may be consulted, should the committee deem necessary. The paperwork process has also been simplified. Our aim is to ensure we reach the outcome of the case, as quickly as possible ensuring fairness and transparency for patients and healthcare professionals alike."

© Emirates 24|7 2012