DHA raises the regulatory bar after lapses

▶ As regulators review cases of negligence, Health Authority says Dubai is a safe place for day surgery

Day surgeries will be subject to tighter regulations and more frequent checks after two high-profile claims of negligence were filed in Dubai.

An independent committee is due to make a decision on a procedure carried out on an Emirati woman that left her in a coma.

Regulators are also investigating the death of an Indian woman during a routine hip replacement at another Dubai hospital.

Investigators can take up to a year to resolve a negligence case, but can process more serious cases within three months.

Dr Marwan Al Mulla, head of health regulation at the Dubai Health Authority, said initial investigations into the Emirati woman’s case revealed doctors failed to follow proper procedures.

“We feel the pain of the family members,” he said. “All necessary precautionary measures were promptly taken after initial investigations. We will take stringent action as soon as the investigations are completed.”

The authority defended its safety record on Monday, claiming targets of less than two cases of negligence per 10,000 hospital admissions were within reach.

DHA director general, Humaid Al Qutami, reassured patients and medical tourists that Dubai remains a safe place to have treatment, with new regulations improving standards.

“Existing day-surgery centres will soon get a circular with the list of approved international accreditations,” he said. “They have 18 months from the date of the circular to obtain an international accreditation.”

Currently, 97 per cent of Dubai hospitals have international accreditations.

All new day-surgery centres wishing to operate in Dubai must get international accreditation – to prove a high standard of care – within 18 months of opening. Centres that fail to do so will be downgraded to clinic status.

Dr Al Mulla said stringent rules and regulations are already in place to oversee health clinics, and recent modifications had simplified the complaint process.

Regulators said Dubai is on target to attract half a million medical tourists a year by 2020, with 337,000 visiting the emirate last year.

The bulk of medical tourists – 33 per cent – visit from the GCC, mostly from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Oman.

About 30 per cent of overseas medical visitors are from Asia, with 16 per cent from Europe.

Dubai has 3,371 medical facilities and 38,981 registered health professionals.

Of the registered health facilities, there are 50 licensed day surgeries and 1,212 medical centres.

Last year there were 1.8 million outpatient visits to government hospitals, and 7.9 million visits to private facilities.

Doctors at government hospitals performed 33,890 surgical procedures last year, with 89,656 operations carried out in private facilities.