17thNovember 2011, Dubai, United Arab Emirates– In celebration of World Diabetes Day, Decide™ participated in an event spearheaded by the Dubai Health Authority to help increase awareness on diabetes in the UAE.

The UAE has the second highest rate of diabetes cases worldwide with 25% of the population diagnosed with the condition. The Decide™ Initiative aims to help lower this rate through informed decisions and healthy lifestyle options.

“World Diabetes Day is a significant worldwide event as it marks the global goal of responding to the challenges of diabetes prevention and management,” says Jan Felton, spokesperson for Decide.

“Decide™ participates in activities that help promote awareness and education on diabetes and nutrition, especially to children. It is important to learn the benefits of a healthy lifestyle and the risks of diabetes at an early age in order to prevent an upsurge in the already alarming number of diabetes cases in the UAE,” Felton adds.

The event held at the Arabian Centre was attended by Dr. WafaaHelmiAyesh, Director of the Clinical Nutrition Department of the Dubai Health Authority.

During the event, Decide™, distributed healthy lunch boxes that were divided up into sections like a ‘healthy plate,’ which is the new symbol for healthy eating.The healthy plate indicates that half of what we eat should comprise fruits and vegetables, a fourth should be healthy starches such as whole grains and a fourth should be protein sources like meat and meat substitutes.

Dubai Health Authority organised activities for children to help them distinguish between healthy and unhealthy foods, and free blood sugar and blood pressure tests for adults, which is an important factor in the diagnosis, management and prevention of diabetes.

United Arab Emirates, November 16, 2011: His Excellency Khalid Al Sheikh Mubarak, Deputy Director-General of the Dubai Health Authority recently visited the Dubai Health Authority’s clinic which is set up at the Airport Dubai International Air show, which is taking place at Dubai Airport Expo.

The clinic is dedicated to provide healthcare services for visitors of the air show.

Al Sheikh Mubarak said that the DHA is pleased to extend its services to the air show and that the clinic is fully prepared to deal with any kind of medical emergency during this time.

He said that DHA is keen to provide the best medical services to its population and ensuring that the DHA sets up on-the-spot medical services for people visiting such a large scale event is one of the directives of the authority to ensure it caters to the medical needs of the community.

The Dubai Health Clinic at the Dubai Air show provides free health screening for visitors as part of its community outreach initiatives. This includes checking of blood pressures, blood sugar and cholesterol as well as a free consultation..

Al Shaikh Mubarak was accompanied by Dr Mohammad Al Olama, CEO of Hospital Services Sector, Dr Ahmed Kalban, CEO of Primary Health Care and Laila Al Jassmi, CEO of Health Policy and Strategy at the DHA.

Dubai - Nov 14th: Under the patronage of H.H Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Chairman of Dubai Executive Council and Chairman of Dubai Autism Centre, the Dubai Autism Centre is organizing an international conference on the occasion of its 10th anniversary under the title ‘Autism… what’s next?’ which will benefit relevant institutions, government organizations, directors of autism and special needs centres, caregivers of children with autism in the various medical and educational fields, as well as parents and family members.

Highlighting the importance of the conference, Mr. Mohammad AL Emadi, Director General and Board Member of Dubai Autism Centre declared: “In line with the strategies of the Centre and its training programs, the conference has been accredited by the Dubai Health Authority for 5.5 credit hours, what would add an academic value to the conference besides its educational benefits on working with children with autism,”

The conference is a full day event that will be held on November 27th at the Knowledge Village. It will feature internationally renowned expert speakers in their respective fields. The keynote speakers represent top institutes from the US and the UK, who are leading the way in research, diagnosis, autism advocacy and intervention.

The conference aims at highlighting the international efforts of limiting the difficulties that can arise from growing up with autism, as well as the latest research and best practices, international early detection diagnosis methods, and the curriculum used in the rehabilitation of children with autism and the future of adults with autism. Through this conference, the Dubai Autism Centre is stressing the importance of adopting globally proven programs and encouraging the various centres to adopt internationally accredited programs and standards.

United Arab Emirates, Dubai, October 30, 2011: The Dubai Health Authority (DHA) in line with its public health initiatives is conducting anti-tobacco initiatives through its cessation clinics and campaigns.

Dr Hanan Obaid, Head of Community Health Services Programs Section at the DHA said, “Through our smoking awareness campaigns which we have conducted in 2010 and this year, we realised that there is an urgent need to create regular community awareness activities with regard to tobacco use because of the significant number of youngsters using tobacco. They are our productive population and are at a high risk of developing diseases caused by long-term use of tobacco.”

Dr Hanan said in 2010, the primary healthcare section of the DHA conducted 98 anti-smoking campaigns targeting 6,221 people across various schools, colleges, malls, government institutions as well as sports clubs.

From the data collected and analysed, Obaid said that there is a need to reach out to the schools in Dubai. She said, “We screened 2,457 students in Dubai schools both Government and private schools. We found the prevalence of tobacco use among school students in Dubai is 14.6% while the percentage of passive smoking among school children is 29.1%. These are children under the age of 20 using tobacco, so we can only imagine the long term health complications that they are at a risk of developing.”

In terms of the type of tobacco used, Obaid said, 11.2 per cent used cigarettes, 2.2 per cent used Shisha, 1.9 per cent used the pipe, 0.8 per cent used cigar and 0.8 per cent used chewed tobacco.

She said adolescents are a high risk group and therefore the authority plans to visit several schools through its anti-smoking initiative in 2012. “We have conducted several campaigns in the past across schools in Dubai, however, we see the need to regularly reach out to children and adolescents and we plan to implement this policy in 2012.

She said the target age group of the campaign will be children and adolescents from the age group of 12- 21 who are more prone to using tobacco as a method of relieving stress. “We aim to reach out to 80,000 students over a period of six months. We are planning the logistics of the project at the moment and will implement it shortly.”

Hanan said that the DHA has two smoking cession clinics one of which is located in Rashid Hospital and the other one is in the Al Twar Health centre. For UAE nationals it is free of cost and for non-nationals the fee is nominal. The Smoking Cessation Clinic at Al Twar provides cessation programs and counselling every Thursday and the clinic in Rashid Hospital provides counselling provides counselling for patients once they book an appointment.

Dr Obaid said that DHA has plans to open another cessation clinic before the end of this year.

The Al Twar Smoking Cessation Clinic numbers are  04- 2612114 and 04-5022101.

United Arab Emirates, Dubai : In line with this year’s international healthcare quality week, the Dubai Health Authority organized a day-long awareness seminar and exhibition to highlight the importance of quality as a fundamental goal in the field of healthcare and health management to help further improve patient outcomes.

The event organized by the Governance and Internal Audit Department at the DHA.

His Excellency Khalid Al Sheikh Mubarak, Deputy Director-General of the DHA inaugurated the ceremony and said that the aim of holding such an event is to educate  all  the healthcare professionals practicing within the DHA including doctors, nurses, technicians and administrative staff, about the importance of ensuring sustained quality in line with the principles of the Dubai Government Excellence Program.

He said, “The importance of quality in improving patient care outcomes and healthcare delivery systems is of pivotal importance. Through this event we will create awareness and encourage our healthcare professionals about the importance of complying with the standards of the Dubai Government Excellence Program.”

He highlighted that DHA employees as well as the management have in the past won DGEP awards for quality and excellence.

Dr Mohammad Al Olama, CEO of the Hospital Services Sector said, “We are keen to inform all DHA employees about the requirements for achieving the DGEP award as well as international accreditations such as the Joint Certification International Accreditation( JCIA) which are all aimed to improve the quality of healthcare which we provide to the population of our Emirate. The DHA pays strong emphasis to such benchmarks as they are important to provide high level of sustained quality healthcare.”

In 2009, the DHA won the distinguished management initiative award for obtaining the JCIA for its three hospitals- Al Wasl, Dubai and Rashid as well as the Thalassemia centre. Later the Airport Medical Centre of DHA which is based at the Dubai International Airport also received the JCIA for ambulatory care making it the world’s

first medical centre to achieve this accreditation. Furthermore, DHA employees also received the DGEP award in 2010 for various categories such as creative employee award, distinguished employee award as well as the shared government employee award.

Dr Abdulla Al Khayat, CEO of Al Wasl Hospital also highlighted Al Wasl Hospital’s role in complying with WHO and UNICEF standards which led to the hospital being conferred the, ‘Baby-Friendly,’ hospital status by UNICEF.

Dr. Zakaria Al Attal , Director of Quality & Performance Department, Hospital Services Sector, DHA said, “Benchmarking oneself with the criterions of the DGEP and international accreditations is essential to ensure that the healthcare services we provide to our population meets international standards. We are certain that such awareness initiatives will further motivate our healthcare professionals to meet and excel these standards.”

United Arab Emirates, Dubai, October 12, 2011: His Highness Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, UAE Minister of Finance and President of the Dubai Health Authority honoured more than 100 DHA professionals for pursuing their higher-education.

The post-graduates included doctors, technicians and administrative staff and the felicitation ceremony took place in the Rashid Hospital Library Auditorium in the presence of DHA CEO’s, senior members, staff and family members of the post-graduates.

The post-graduates obtained their degrees in diverse medical fields such as dentistry as well as technical and administrative degrees in health management.

His Excellency Qadhi Saeed Al Murooshid, Director General of the Dubai Health Authority emphasized on the importance nurturing local talent in his speech and praised the efforts of the medical education department for supporting and encouraging DHA professionals to obtain higher education degrees.

He mentioned that the authority is very keen to promote higher education which is crucial to develop and further enhance the quality of health professionals.

He said this strategy is in line with the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai and the directives of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, UAE Minister of Finance and President of Dubai Health Authority.

Al Murooshid mentioned that of the post-graduates who were felicitated, 53 have completed the requirements for the Royal College of General Practitioners of UK (MRCGP). They will now work as family physicians within the DHA primary health care sector. “At the DHA, we pay significant emphasis to having a strong primary healthcare system as that is the first referral point for patients and a robust primary healthcare sector is important to ensure we provide the highest level of patient care.”

The DHA has tied up with the Royal College of General Practitioners of UK for their examiners to visit UAE and conduct the examination in Dubai itself. Al Murooshid said, “This ensures convenience for the healthcare facility who may find it difficult to study abroad due to job or family commitments. Moreover, this ensures we follow the same standards of the UK qualification but the program is developed keeping the local needs in mind.”

Al Murooshid said that promoting higher education is an integral aspect of the DHA vision and that the authority will continue to support its staff in terms of all aspects including providing them with study leave as well as counseling them on the various educational opportunities in the field of medicine in the UAE and abroad.

He said the DHA has made it an integral aspect of their program to send doctors abroad to the most prestigious universities to pursue their advanced education and on returning them they retain their positions within the DHA. In addition to this, the DHA also encourages doctors to pursue their higher education within the UAE itself.

Dr Khalil Qayed, Director of Medical Education at the DHA said, “Encouraging higher education is crucial to accelerate the pace of development in the healthcare sector. At the DHA, we have several continuing medical education programs which we firmly believe are the cornerstone to ensure that we nature and retain highly-qualified medical professionals.”

Professor J Muscat Baron, Clinical Dean, Professor of Medicine at Dubai Medical College for Girls and Advisor of medical education affairs at the DHA Medical Education Department said, “The program of continuous medical education across different specialities is important to ensure we provide the UAE with highly qualified healthcare professionals. The particular emphasis on primary healthcare is also significant to ensure the population of the Emirate receives quality healthcare.”

The  post-graduates who were felicitated, include doctors, technicians and health administration staff, who have completed their post-graduation from the UAE and abroad.

Of these, 53 doctors have completed the requirements for the Royal College of General Practitioners of Great Britain (MRCGP), 29 doctors have completed their masters in health management and 19 doctors have completed their masters in various fields including dental surgery.

The Director General praised the efforts undertaken by the medical education department and mentioned that presently there are 26 DHA staff members who are currently pursuing their higher education abroad.

His Highness Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, UAE Minister of Finance and President of Dubai Health Authority accompanied by His Excellency Qadhi Saeed Al Murooshid, Director General of Dubai Health Authority, honoured the post-graduates and presented them with gifts.

United Arab Emirates, Dubai, September, 27, 2011: The Director General of the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) welcomed the Council General of Thailand, who recently visited the DHA headquarters.

H.E Mr. Chalotorn Phaovibul, Consul-General of Thailand in Dubai, met with His Excellency Qadhi Saeed Al Murooshid, Director General of the DHA to explore and enhance mutual cooperation between the two countries in the field of healthcare.

The meeting was also attended by senior DHA members and officials from the Thailand Consulate in Dubai.  From the DHA, senior members including Dr Mohammad Al Olama, CEO of Hospital Services Sector and Abdullah Nasser, Assistant Director of Treatment and Oversees Patients’ Affairs Office, attended the meeting.

H.E. Al Murooshid and H.E Phaovibul discussed ways to boost cooperation especially in the medical field.

His Excellency Al Murooshid, provided the Consul-General with an overview of the Dubai Healthcare system and highlighted the high level of quality healthcare available in the Emirate of Dubai.

Taking this meeting forward, the two parties decided to explore mutual cooperation in healthcare and gain from each other’s expertise as well as share knowledge about important healthcare developments.

United Arab Emirates, September 17, 2011:  Under the instructions of His Excellency Qadhi Saeed Al Murooshid, Director General of the Dubai Health Authority, the DHA has completed all necessary preparations for this Hajj pilgrimage season.

The DHA has stocked up all vaccines required for Hajj pilgrims across its health centres and traveller’s clinic. Moreover, the DHA has tied up with DNATA to provide on the spot vaccinations to travellers who buy tickets from the main office of DNATA at Sheikh Zayed Road.

Dr Ahmed Kalban, CEO of Primary Healthcare at the DHA said, “All preparations are in line with the priorities of the DHA to control infectious diseases and to provide the best medical services and advice to travellers who undertake the Hajj pilgrimage.”

The DHA has prepared health education materials with tips and travel advice for all travellers and is distributing these materials across its primary health centres.

The DHA provides all the vaccines which are mandatory for Hajj pilgrims including: vaccines against meningitis and seasonal influenza , vaccines for pneumonia for the elderly and people with chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart problems

Dr Fatima Al Attar, Head of Preventive services at the DHA said that it is imperative for pilgrims to get vaccinated at least two weeks before they enter Saudi Arabia to perform the Hajj pilgrimage. 

All travellers who issue their tickets for Hajj from the Sheikh Zayed Road at Dnata will get consultation and on the spot vaccination at the DNATA centre where DHA has set up a medical centre for this period.

khalil-qayed

United Arab Emirates, Dubai, September 5, 2011: In keeping with its objectives of providing regular employee enrichment programs, the DHA Medical Education Department  has organised a series of administrative courses in the month of September for DHA employees.

The programs are aimed to develop one’s skill sets in order to succeed in the workplace. The series of courses will be held in English and include a workshop on stress management, leadership, delegation skills and benchmarking concepts. All the administrative courses will take place in the Medical Education Department offices in Room No E-3.

The stress management workshop will be held from September 14 to 15.  The two-day course will help develop knowledge and understanding of stress management as required by a practicing or potential first-line manager. The aim of the course is to help employees understand how to manage stress and minimize stress in others.

The attendees will learn about recognizing and dealing with stress, eliminating the causes of stress as well as managing and dealing with stress in a better manner.

The next administrative course will be held on the Principle of Leadership & Delegation from September 21 to 22. The course will be held for leaders, supervisors and other interested DHA staff members. The aim of the course is to ensure attendees understand the difference between a manager and a leader as well as understand different leadership styles. The course will also highlight the importance of delegation as an integral tool for leaders.

Furthermore, the course will help leaders assess communication and management styles of their subordinates and will provide them with strategies that are aimed to build trust and confidence of their subordinates.

The course will help leaders understand situational leadership and its applications

The last course for the month of September will be held on benchmarking concepts from September 26-27. The two-day course will help attendees understand the concept and importance of benchmarking, learn benchmarking processes and techniques, prepare and implement benchmarking plans, effectively deploy strategies and policies  and ensure effective utilization of the best practices.

Collaboration aims to support Dubai Strategic Plan 2015 and help achieve goals of safety, security and justice

October 13, 2010

Dubai Judicial Institute (DJI), a leading center of law studies and judicial training in Dubai, recently met with senior officials of the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) to explore the possibilities of a strategic partnership that aims to launch and implement initiatives and programs designed to support Dubai Strategic Plan 2015 and bring the emirate one step closer toward achieving its key goals of safety, security and justice. H.H. Qadhi Saeed Al Murooshid, Director General, DHA, received H.H. Dr. Jamal Hussein Al-Sumaiti, Director General, DJI, and his delegation, during a meeting held recently at the General Administration Building of the DHA. Also present during the meeting were H.E. Khaled Ahmed Al Sheikh Mubarak, Deputy Director General, DHA and Dr. Mohammed Saleem Al Almaa, CEO, Hospital Services Sector.

During the meeting, Al-Murooshid briefed the DJI delegation on the progress of DHA’s continuing efforts in promoting stronger ties between the different government departments and authorities in the emirate - resulting in the integration and improvement of services being offered to UAE nationals and residents. He expressed DHA’s interest in partnering with DJI to help support the Dubai Strategic Plan 2015 and help achieve its goals of safety, security and justice.

The DHA Director General also lauded the DJI’s efforts to provide training opportunities in legal and judicial services to various government agencies and help qualify UAE nationals to work in positions in the judiciary, public prosecution and legal departments. He also cited the importance of DJI’s various research and studies in legal and judicial subjects and the many accomplishments that the institute has achieved since it was established in 1996.

Dr. Jamal Hussein Al-Sumaiti pointed out the important role that DHA plays in the effort to create stronger ties between government agencies and departments; further citing that the efforts have not only resulted in the integration and improvement of services being offered but have also contributed largely to realising the vision of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, to reinforce and position Dubai as an ideal hub for investment, education, tourism and medical opportunities. Dr. Al-Sumaiti also affirmed DJI’s commitment to work closely with DHA and launch initiatives and programs that will help reach strategic goals and promote overall growth for Dubai.

The Dubai Judicial Institute was established in 1996 to help educate and train aspiring judges, prosecutors and their assistants, legal experts and lawyers. DJI also offers habilitation programs for public prosecutors to enhance their efficiency. The Institute provides training and consultancy services to various public and private sector agencies and institutions and conducts local, regional and global research and studies on all areas of law and jurisdiction.