Health centre in Abu Dhabi fined Dh1m and banned from dentistry by fraud inquiry

Abu Dhabi’s Department of Health has fined a medical centre Dh1 million ($272,294) and is investigating alleged financial misconduct there.

Several other centres in the emirate were closed temporarily over breaches of conduct, the health department said.

The fined centre is “prohibited from offering dental services across all branches due to suspected fraudulent activities aimed at misappropriating public funds, effectively barring them from offering these services in the future”, an official said on Sunday.

Some members of staff at the centre are under investigation by the authorities.

The health department said the laws “relating to the prevention of infectious diseases” were found to have been broken at three other sites – an occupational medicine centre, a laboratory and a medical centre.

Four home care centres were reported to have ignored standards and protocols by failing to provide essential medicine, medical supplies and devices for emergency cases and failing to obtain patient consent for treatment.

They were also found to have neglected standards governing the disposal of medical waste, the prevention and control of infections and ensuring that patients’ medical records remained confidential.

The authorities also forced a dental clinic to halt operations for several reasons, including the employment of unlicensed healthcare staff and failing to adhere to the “sterilisation protocols and the use of non-sterile medical supplies”, reports said.

The health department emphasised the need for staff and managers at all medical centres across Abu Dhabi to ensure they follow policies and enforce regulations.

The Department of Health has emphasised the need for staff and managers to follow policies and regulations