Health Authority-Abu Dhabi and Oasis Hospital use recruitment fair to meet UAE Nationals, boost Emiratisation initiatives

Abu Dhabi, UAE, 1 February, 2012: UAE hospitals and healthcare providers are taking advantage of Tawdheef Recruitment Show today to reach out to UAE nationals interested in a career in healthcare.

Health Authority-Abu Dhabi (HAAD) and Oasis Hospital are among the headline exhibitors at the career fair currently taking place at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre until tomorrow (2 February) to fill an unlimited number of positions with Emirati candidates.

As the regulatory body that shapes the framework for the health system in Abu Dhabi, HAAD is a regular recruiter at Tawdheef, and returns in its efforts to continue encouraging Emiratis to consider careers in healthcare, at a time when 6.5 per cent of the 22,000 registered healthcare professionals in Abu Dhabi consist of Emiratis.

“Tawdheef provides hospitals and healthcare providers an excellent opportunity to reach out to key stakeholders in the drive for Emiratisation,” said Shaikha Alzaheray, Manager of Emiratisation of the healthcare department, HAAD.

“There are a large number of positions available in healthcare for UAE nationals as well as the appropriate training programmes to help them pursue a successful career.  It is very important for Emiratis to support our mission to transform the healthcare landscape in Abu Dhabi, and we are continuously looking to recruit the right candidates to realise this vision.”

Oasis Hospital, the oldest hospital in Abu Dhabi and birthplace of the leaders of the UAE, is also using Tawdheef to recruit as many UAE Nationals as possible as it expands its facility in Al Ain and increases its capacity to serve the region.

“We continue to invest in Emirati talent and will always do so in the future as a way to holistically contribute to the Al Ain region and the UAE,” said David Printy, CEO of Oasis Hospital.  “The popularity of healthcare as a career choice for UAE Nationals is growing, and Tawdheef is a great opportunity for us to increase our percentage of Emiratis in our workforce.”

The Abu Dhabi Health Services Company SEHA, which manages the curative activities of public hospitals and health clinics in Abu Dhabi, is also a silver sponsor at Tawdheef.

Presented by Abu Dhabi Tawteen Council and supported by the Emirates National Development Programme, Tawdheef is the UAE’s leading recruitment event that supports Emiratisation.  Only companies with immediately available positions for UAE Nationals are taking part.

These include platinum sponsors the UAE Presidential Guard, Abu Dhabi Police, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank and National Bank of Abu Dhabi, gold sponsors Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority, ADNOC and Etisalat, and silver sponsors Etihad Airways, the Telecoms Regulations Authority (TRA) Abu Dhabi Health Services Company (SEHA), and Abu Dhabi National Insurance Company (ADNIC). Abu Dhabi Airports Company is the registration sponsor.

The first two days of Tawdheef is reserved for Emirati job seekers only, with the final day (tomorrow) open to all other nationalities.  From 11am – 2pm today (1 February) is for ladies only.  Pre-registration is available online at www.tawdheef.ae.

[Dubai, UAE: 25 Jan 2012] Already an acknowledged world-leader in healthcare technology, New Zealand underlined its healthcare sector excellence by fielding a strong presence of highly reputable companies at Arab Health 2012 – the largest healthcare exhibition and congress in the Middle East, held from January 23 – 26 at Dubai International Convention & Exhibition Centre.

As the event welcomed exhibitors and visitors from all over the world, New Zealand showcased its home grown talent of Healthcare sector companies such as: Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, a world-leader in respiratory care; Orion Health, Vensa and Adept Medical Limited, which received strong support from New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) – the New Zealand government’s economic development agency.

New Zealand Trade and Enterprise’s Dubai-based Trade Commissioner, Steve Jones, said: “The Gulf’s burgeoning health sector is important to New Zealand and presents considerable regional trade opportunities. The Gulf is embracing New Zealand’s healthcare technologies, especially as the population here in the GCC is expected to double in the next 20 years; alongside growing regional health tourism.”

The GCC population boom has made healthcare improvements a critical challenge for regional governments, along with heavy demand on technology, equipment and infrastructure to support the growth. And with New Zealand’s healthcare sector being well-versed in creating technologies that drive efficiencies and deliver better health outcomes, the country’s size and relatively small, dispersed population have led to pioneering uses of technology and a flexible, highly responsive approach to meeting healthcare requirements.

New Zealand’s expertise is particularly recognised in the area of electronic health records. With patient volumes in the GCC steadily increasing and new facilities being delivered, growing issues such as patient record management provide a solid opportunity for health IT companies.

To help streamline the process New Zealand company Orion Health, the country’s largest health software company, offers a single sign-on clinical surface and a number of workflow solutions that ease access to patient data and analyse trends, thereby reducing errors and streamlining information flow.

“Typically, large healthcare organisations have a broad variety of enterprise and departmental applications, each of which contains its own data and usually has its own security mechanism. The Orion technology makes integration through interoperability simple and effective,” said Ali Zarzour, Orion Health General Manager.

New Zealand also leads the way in heated humidification therapy, guided by Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, one of New Zealand’s leading healthcare experts in the Middle East and North Africa. The company’s respiratory humidifiers and obstructive sleep apnoea devices bring relief to millions of people in this region and over 100 countries worldwide.

“Fisher & Paykel Healthcare has been working in the Middle East for more than 20 years building up a solid base of clients. We recognise that the coming years hold much growth for health technology providers in the region and the Arab Health Expo is a key networking opportunity for us,” said Simon Hall, Area/Corporate Relations Manager of Fisher & Paykel Healthcare.

“While New Zealand may be geographically isolated we are a globally connected nation. Our place in the world shapes our perspective and it drives New Zealanders to look outward, seize and realise opportunities and work together to excel in the global economy,” Jones added. “Arab Health is the perfect forum for New Zealand companies to reach out and grow in this region.”

Abu Dhabi, 25 January 2012: The Abu Dhabi Health Services Company PJSC (SEHA) healthcare service providers won three awards at the Arab Health Awards 2012. The Awards ceremony was held last night at the InterContinental Hotel, Dubai Festival City.

The annual awards offer recognition of excellence across several healthcare provision categories ranging from Excellence in Surgery Services and Excellence in Laboratory Services to Excellence in Imaging and Diagnostics Services and Excellence in Patient Centered Care.

SEHA’s Al Ain Hospital has won the Excellence in Imaging and Diagnostics Services and Excellence in Patient Safety Awards.  While SEHA’s Ambulatory Healthcare Services, won the Excellence in Electronic in Healthcare Services award.

“We are very pleased with our achievements at the Arab Health Awards 2012, which are a recognized measure of excellence and commitment in the healthcare industry. SEHA’s mission is to offer world-class healthcare to the residents of Abu Dhabi, and the fact that our healthcare providers won these awards and were shortlisted for several others is a testimony to our commitment to quality, customer-centricity and patient safety. I would like to thank who are directly responsible for our success,” said H.E. Saif Bader Al Qubaisi, Managing Director and Chairman of SEHA. 

SEHA and its healthcare providers had been shortlisted in several categories for the Arab Health Awards 2012. Tawam Hospital had been nominated for Excellence in Imaging and Diagnostics, along with SEHA’s central IT Department, while Mafraq Hospital was in the short-list for the Roche Excellence in Laboratory Services Award. SEHA’s HR Department and its healthcare provider Corniche Hospital had been nominated for the Human Resources Development Award.

The Arab Health Awards panel reviewed more than 150 nominations submitted by healthcare facilities and professionals from around the Middle East region to build a shortlist for ten award categories, from which the winners were announced.

The Arab Health Exhibition & Congress is the largest event of its kind in the Middle East. Now in its 37th year, Arab Health provides an unrivalled platform for the world’s leading manufacturers, wholesalers and distributors to meet the medical and scientific community from the Middle East and beyond. The 2012 edition of the event is being held Dubai World Trade Centre from January 23rd-26th 2012, where SEHA has once again reiterated its commitment to world class healthcare by renewing its role as Lead Congress Sponsor.

Singapore : Abraaj Capital, a leading private equity manager investing in the rapidly growing economies of the Middle East, Africa, Turkey and Asia, announced today that it has entered into an agreement to divest its entire 50% shareholding in Acıbadem Sağlık Yatırımları Holding A.Ş. and affiliated companies (“Acibadem”) to Integrated Healthcare Holdings Sdn. Bhd (“IHH”) and Khazanah Nasional Bhd (“Khazanah”).

Under the terms of the agreement, IHH and Khazanah shall acquire a combined 75% shareholding in Acibadem from Abraaj and Turkey’s Aydinlar family through a combination of a cash payment and the exchange of newly issued IHH shares.

Upon completion of the transaction, Abraaj will become a shareholder in IHH, which is one of the largest emerging market healthcare service providers, operating over 3,000 beds across 76 healthcare facilities in Asia. The combined group will be amongst the largest hospital groups operating globally and across emerging markets. 

IHH is currently owned 70% by Pulau Memutik Ventures Sdn. Bhd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Khazanah, and 30% by MBK Healthcare Partners Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Mitsui & Co (“Mitsui”).

Commenting on the announcement, Arif Naqvi, Founder and Group Chief Executive of Abraaj Capital, said: “This transaction demonstrates that quality assets in growth markets can outperform and generate significant returns – even during challenging periods. The transaction, which is one of the largest to come out of emerging markets, also reinforces the increasing opportunities for collaboration among emerging markets participants.”

He continued: “It has been extremely rewarding for Abraaj Capital to be a part of the Acibadem growth story in which the Aydinlar family has been an exceptional partner.  We now look forward to this exciting new journey in partnership with Khazanah and Mitsui”.

The transaction generates an attractive return for Abraaj which will receive half its proceeds in cash and half in newly issued IHH shares on which it will aim to generate future returns.

The investment in IHH follows Abraaj’s expansion into Southeast Asia through the opening of its Singapore operations earlier this year.

Abraaj invested in Acibadem in December 2007. Today, Acibadem, through its operating company Acıbadem Sağlık Hizmetleri ve Ticaret A.Ş., is one of Turkey’s largest private healthcare groups, operating over 1,800 beds across 14 hospitals and eight medical centers in Turkey.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs acted as joint financial advisors to Abraaj Capital and the Aydinlar family on the transaction.

United Arab Emirates, Dubai, November 28, 2011: The Health Regulation department at the Dubai Health Authority recently organizing a workshop on medical complaints to inform all healthcare professionals about the new medical complaints procedure at DHA.

The workshop, which was held in Al Murooj Rotana Hotel was attended by over 500 participants including CEOs, medical directors and healthcare professionals from the public and private healthcare sector of Dubai.

Dr. Layla Mohamed Al Marzouqi, Head of Clinical Governance Office, DHA Health Regulation Department said, “The DHA constantly aims to simplify the medical complaint process and resolve disputes within a short period of time. As per the new procedure the medical complaints committee will only interview complainants and doctors for major malpractice cases which require testimonies from both sides and not all major cases which are clear and have straight forward outcomes. This is in line with international standards and ensures quicker resolution of cases.

“However, the committee will interview every case which is considered to be that of malpractice and the doctor will be interviewed in such an instance.”

Dr Marzouqi said the new procedure is in line with international standards and that the same procedure which is followed across many countries. “The new procedure is aimed to ensure faster resolution of cases because previously the medical investigation committee interviewed every case which fell into the ‘major’ category, irrespective of whether the outcome was clear or not. Now, we will choose only those cases which require an interview while ensuring we continue our advanced methods in dealing with medical complaints to ensure transparency and fair judgment.”

She said major cases are complaints that need to be investigated immediately by an investigation committee without assessment. They include procedure involving wrong body part or a wrong medical medication which caused serious repercussions including death.

This is the second workshop held to educate the healthcare professionals about the new procedure. The DHA regularly engages the healthcare professionals in such workshops to educate them about medical complaints and to listen to their concerns and suggestions.”

Dr  Marzouqi said, “Research indicates that however technically gifted individuals are and however professional the practice, there is no immunity from human error. Therefore the aim of such workshops is to educate medical professionals and the importance of understanding the human element and effective teamwork in improving patient outcomes.”

She said in 2009, the DHA health regulation department received 70 complaints, in 2010 the total complaints received were 150 and until now 215 complaints have been received in 2011.

Of the 70 complaints in 2009, 16 were negligence cases, 2 were malpractice cases, 13 were negligence and malpractice cases, 23 cases showed no malpractice and negligence and the remainder of cases were either non-medical or the complainant withdrew the case etc.

Similarly in 2010, 21 were negligence cases, 14 were malpractice cases, 12 were negligence and malpractice cases, 56  cases showed no malpractice and negligence and the remainder of cases were either non-medical or the complainant withdrew the case etc.

And in 2011, 1 case was that of negligence, 12 were malpractice cases, 56 cases showed no malpractice or negligence and the rest are still under investigation.

Dr Morzouqi said that another added feature of the new system is that the investigation committee can seek legal advice from the DHA legal department regarding the case if required. The DHA health regulation department has also included a new definition for the term malpractise. The new definition is according to the UAE medical liability law.

Dr Marzouqi said, “We want to ensure the public is aware of this service. Our aim is to protect public health and safety by resolving investigation and prosecuting complaints about health care and we strongly urge all patients to be aware of their rights.”

Jeddah-Saudi Arabia: – The need to optimize energy management in the next generation of healthcare amenities was highlighted by Schneider Electric, the global specialist in energy management, during its participation at the Healthcare Facilities Design and Development 2011, an initiative aimed at highlighting key solutions to resolve the latest challenges in Saudi Arabia’s health infrastructure industry.

Organized by IQPC, the event held at the Park Hyatt in Jeddah from 19-21 November featured technical presentations from key experts demonstrating best practices in the area of health facility design and development. Schneider Electric supported the event as a Platinum sponsor.

Michael Sullivan, Vice President-Healthcare Solutions, Schneider Electric, delivered a workshop on ‘Implementing state-of-the-art health facility designs to maximize ROI’. The session examined design features that improve efficiency. It also underscored the rise in demand for health services driven by a growing population in Saudi Arabia. The workshop additionally recorded the development of the healthcare sector with the coming up of several new infrastructure projects including small-sized medical clinics as well as large-scale teaching and research hospitals.

Mohammad Al-Hajjaj, Healthcare Solutions and Segment Manager at Schneider Electric Saudi Arabia, said: “The design of these new facilities is of utmost importance.  A major challenge for the health sector today is combining continuity and quality of healthcare whilst optimizing building investment and operating costs. Ensuring smooth functioning and deriving increased ROI from these new projects is essential. However, this has to be accompanied with patient satisfaction, safety and security through the provision of international standard services.

“The workshop helped us explore design perquisites to develop a health facility that increases revenue, improves staff productivity, maintains a longer operational lifecycle and provides world-class services to patients.”

Michael Sullivan additionally delivered a presentation on ‘Build a Better Hospital’, focusing on the areas of patient safety, financial performance and patient satisfaction.

The Healthcare Facilities Design and Development event provides a forum for industry specialists including government representatives as well as hospital and medical directors to learn from regional and international case studies in health infrastructure. The event also offers a platform to evaluate the latest software in health facility design and facilitates participants to network with key figures and government officials in Saudi Arabia’s healthcare sector.

Schneider Electric’s intelligent hospital infrastructure that improves an existing hospital or enables the construction of a new efficient facility are based on the EcoStruxure approach that complies with the latest LEED requirements for developing green buildings.

Schneider Electric’s integrated hospital solutions can improve margins by up to 25 per cent through improving energy efficiency. Mitigating risks of electrical incidents, advanced power management, reducing hospital-acquired infections with environmental controls, and securing the pulse of a hospital with integrated security solutions are some of the benefits of the application.

Dubai’s stalled scheme to offer medical insurance to every employee in the emirate is under review and may be implemented as early as next year, a senior healthcare official said Tuesday.

The first stages of the revised plan, which would require every company to offer basic healthcare cover to its staff, could be rolled out in 2012, three years after its original launch date.

“The idea is that private health insurance in Dubai will be mandatory so every employer will have to provide their employees with a health insurance cover,” said Dr Yousuf Haider, director of healthcare department at Dubai Health Authority.

Asked if the first stages of the scheme could be in place in 2012, Dr Haider said: “Yes.”

Dubai first unveiled plans for mandatory health insurance in 2008, with a scheme that required companies to pay between AED500 and AED800 to the government annually for each employee.

The plan was designed to offer primary healthcare, non-emergency inpatient care and some prescription drugs, while stopping short of writing a blank cheque for all medical services.

Dubai suspended the scheme in 2009 after the onset of the global financial crisis and no new timeline was established. The new-look plan proposes cutting out the government as middleman and asking companies to buy private health insurance directly for their staff, said Dr Haider.

“The previous model was more like a social insurance model so there was a major role for the government in centrally collecting the funds and distributing the funds to clinics. This has been changed into more of a private health insurance model with a strong regulator,” he said.

“The mandatory component is what we call the basic benefit package; this will ensure that people do not get into financial difficultly as a result of not having insurance.”

The burden of providing care to uninsured residents has been a key concern for many Gulf states. Saudi Arabia in 2009 rolled out mandatory health insurance for expatriates and nationals, linking proof of healthcare insurance to the renewal of workers’ visas.  

Abu Dhabi has required companies and sponsors to provide medical insurance for staff and family members since 2006, in a bid to reduce the cost of medical care to the government. 

A government survey in 2010 found some 75 percent of Indian, other Asians and Arab expat workers in Dubai had no health insurance and struggled to access basic medical care.

Only 23 percent of the bottom fifth of wage-earners – who earned an average of AED2,273 a month – had health insurance, the Dubai Household Health Survey showed.

Dr Haider said Dubai companies worst-hit by the global crisis, or those with significant numbers of employees, would be given longer to comply with health insurance rules. 

“This is going to be rolled out gradually. Those who have had more impact [from the economic downturn] will come at the end,” he said.

“We are looking at a total roll-out period of at least two to three years. It has been designed with the economy in mind so that it adds to the economy and doesn’t become a burden…. when the premium is clearly affordable the impact is minimal.”

Dubai, UAE: GE (NYSE: GE) has announced the appointment of Dr. Manar A Al-Moneef, a Saudi Arabian national and experienced healthcare professional, as the Managing Director of Imagination Breakthrough in the Middle East and Pakistan.

Dr. Al-Moneef will be responsible for leading the business development of GE Healthcare, the healthcare operations of the company in the region, and providing strategic and technical consultancy for launching new applications and products in key emerging markets before taking them globally.

Ali Saleh, GE Healthcare’s General Manager, for Market Development, Eastern and Africa Growth markets said: “The Middle East region is focusing on innovation and original thinking to meet the pressing healthcare challenges, including a growing incidence of lifestyle diseases and rising healthcare bills. Dr. Manar Al-Moneef has proven competencies in the healthcare sector of the region, and she will drive our healthcare business growth with a focus on healthymagination, GE’s commitment to deliver better quality care to more people at lower costs.”

Dr. Al-Moneef said: “The healthcare requirements of the region are unique and call for ingenious solutions in addressing local challenges. GE’s emphasis on innovation and imagination enable our professionals to think beyond conventional boundaries, and create breakthrough innovations that will help improve the state of medical care.”

Regarded as an enterprising visionary who combines outstanding life science and business development talents, Dr Al-Moneef was the Director General of Health Care & Life Sciences at the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA), previously.

She has worked as Director of Molecular Pathology & Genetics at King Abdulaziz Medical City, National Guard Hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. She was also appointed as an Assistant Professor at King Saud University for Medical Studies. 

Dr. Al-Moneef has a Doctoral Degree in Molecular Oncology from Leicester Warwick University, United Kingdom and a Master Degree in Molecular Medicine form Cambridge University, United Kingdom. She has published several papers on Molecular Medicine, health care and life science strategies.

With over 10,000 GE healthcare technologies serving a large network of hospitals and healthcare providers, GE has a strong presence in the Middle East. The company has a long history of public and private sector partnerships in the region, where it supports healthcare providers with advanced technologies and solutions to address the full spectrum of medical needs.

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.”

Gulf Healthcare International, the Dubai medical services provider, plans to invest AED100m ($27m) in opening six branded clinics and acquiring 11 clinics aimed at lower-income patients.

The company aims to tap into the significant number of UAE residents without healthcare insurance by offering no-frills medical care, CEO Mark Adams said Sunday.

“It’s is an area that we believe has some challenges,” he told Arabian Business. “Around 50 to 60 percent of your patients don’t have access to health insurance. So you have got to balance the right level of clinical ability with a high-volume, low-margin business model.”

GHI last week said two private equity funds held by JP Morgan Asset Management had taken a stake in the company, replacing Dubai-based Varkey Group as a shareholder.

The value and size of the stake was not disclosed.

The healthcare firm also plans to roll out six high-end clinics under the ‘Amber’ brand by the first quarter of 2012, the first of which opened its doors Sept 15 in Deira. The second centre is scheduled to open in Sharjah in Dec, with a third slated to launch in Ras Al Khaimah in Jan.

“We have been developing the concept of large polyclinics with minor surgery, endoscopic suites, physiotherapy rehabilitation and up to 20 doctors practicing under one roof, said chief operating officer Linda Marshall.