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Rehabilitation of patients is important: Haya
Rehabilitation of patients is important: Haya Asma Ali Zain / 31 January 2014 Princess Haya says all the hard work on getting a patient over an acute injury is almost wasted if the patient is not rehabilitated and integrated back into society. A needs assessment should be conducted before establishing specialised centres in the country said Princess Haya bint Al Hussein, wife of His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. Princess Haya among the delegates at the Leaders Healthcare session at the Arab Health 2014 in Dubai on Thursday. — KT photos by Grace Guino She was addressing the session on Leaders Healthcare on the concluding day of Arab Health 2014, on Thursday. Princess Haya said healthcare professionals, doctors and nurses have become so much specialised in certain areas that they have neglected the basics of general care. “One of the areas most neglected is rehabilitation. Patients often receive excellent and acute care but limited rehabilitation … all that hardwork, getting a patient over an acute injury is almost wasted if the patient is not rehabilitated and integrated back into society where they can live a normal life and contribute to the country,” she added. “We have made significant advances in healthcare since last we met. The Al Jalila Foundation, a non-profit organisation launched in 2013, is mandating the UAE as a centre of excellence and research. Additionally, the groundwork for specialisation in healthcare has more than strategically paved by the new Insurance Law which comes into force in Dubai this year and will provide healthcare cover for all our residents,” she said. “We continue to produce standards of specialist nurses and soon will establish the University of Medicine and Health Sciences and the University Hospital at Dubai Healthcare City.” Also, this month, His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid chaired a session to boost healthcare and education. They endorsed cancer and early detection programmes, a national database for all medical records and certain measures tackling obesity and encouraging a healthy lifestyle, she added. “Before we set up a system, we must understand the advantages and disadvantages of specialisation. So, how do we get better outcomes at reduced costs? First is by specialisation. By building speciality hospitals, healthcare workers are exposed to a large number of patients with the illness in question which otherwise will rarely be seen by these individuals. With the increased numbers of treatments comes the early recognition and signs and symptoms, institutions of treatment, better timed diagnostics and interventions for improved outcomes. “Furthermore by allowing physicians to share in efficiency gains through ownership, speciality hospitals may create more powerful incentives to achieve other costs and quality improvements. So how do we fare in the UAE with regard to specialist hospitals? Most hospitals in the region, especially in the UAE were established as general hospitals that have been changed for a particular specialty over time, she said in her speech. “In order to succeed, we must conduct a proper needs assessment for our population that will identify the most prevalent incidences of diseases among our population allowing us to concentrate on resources and establishing well designed, well-staffed and well-equipped specialised centres such as was the intention of the Al Jalila Speciality Hospital.” No project should be allowed without a detailed assessment so as not to waste our precious resources.” “We must realise that there will be diseases that are too rare for us to treat on our own. We will require local and at times international help to deliver the best possible care.” “We must not dilute our expertise by establishing competing facilities when the demand is low as this will reduce expertise.” Another challenge for our region is identifying how many specialised centres are required to serve our small populations, she added. “We must work together to limit sense expansion that dilutes our expertise.” asmaalizain@khaleejtimes.com For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
Residents asked to use resources ‘sensibly’
Residents asked to use resources ‘sensibly’ Nivriti Butalia / 30 January 2014 Dewa chief says authority to intensify efforts to conserve water, aims to reduce line loss by 6% in two years. Water losses in the city are going to see a drastic cut if the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) has its way. Managing Director and CEO of Dewa, Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer told Khaleej Times that the authority is going to intensify efforts to conserve water. Fact box > Through 8 recycling programmes last year, Emirates Environmental Group collected 1.6m kg of waste > 1,190,000 kg of paper has been collected for recycling > More than 25,000kg of aluminium cans have been collected for recycling > More than 80,000kg of plastic have been collected and recycled “By 2016 we are going to reduce line loss by 6 per cent,” he told this newspaper, while also advocating that people in villas should conserve resources and use water sensibly. Line loss refers to the water lost in the pipeline itself. Addressing worries of residents, Al Tayer also told Khaleej Times that tap water in Dubai is 100 per cent safe and drinkable. He, however, asked residents to check with the management of residential buildings to see if the buildings tanks were regularly cleaned and not corroded. In a build up to the ‘World Green Economy Summit’ (WGES) to be held in Dubai in April, Al Tayer on Wednesday spoke about ‘Green’ being a national strategy for UAE. He spoke of ‘smart city projects’ and the promotion of sustainability across the Middle East. Al Tayer also announced a new initiative by Dewa, to organise one week of green events in Dubai under the theme ‘Dubai Green Week’ from April 13-17, 2014, to be held annually and coincide with both Water, Energy, Technology, and Environment Exhibition (WETEX) and the ‘World Green Economy Summit’. “Specialised forums and events will be held with the aim to increase participation from all segments of society, particularly young entrepreneurs, university students and the media among others. The activities and events of Dubai Green Week will be announced in the comin weeks,” said Al Tayer. The summit programme this year is co-developed with a high profile advisory board. The partners are United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), State of Green – Denmark, Regions of Climate Change (R20), World Bank, International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena) and Carbon Disclosure Report (CDR). “The WGES 2014 programme has five pillars, namely Green Regulation, Green Finance, Green Innovation, Green Partnerships and Green Marketplace,” said Waleed Salman, Vice Chairman and Secretary-General of the organising committee. There was also a small signing ceremony at the event, to ink a partnership between WGES and Irena to work in collaboration in the region on issues related to energy. Recycling pays off Besides water conservation efforts, the UAE has also seen a revolution in terms of recycling thanks to the Emirates Environment Group (EEG). Habiba Al Marashi, chairperson of EEG, stated: “Last year, we were able to collect 1,190,000kg of paper with the cooperation of 878 participating entities from the public, private, household and educational sectors all over the United Arab Emirates.” She said: “We were also able to collect more than 25,000kg of aluminium cans with the help of 450 participants, and 8,917 printer cartridges”. “As for batteries and juice cartons, 73 participants were able to collect a grand 2,773kg, and 91 participants collected 5,507kg accordingly. In our Mobile Phone Recycling Campaign, volunteers collected 1,984 mobile phones.” “Moreover, aluminium is precious and can be 100 per cent recyclable. The recycling process for aluminium can save up to 95 per cent of the energy needed for its production”. The statistics in the UAE indicate that there are more than 12 million plastic containers sold every day, thus recycling this huge number will save a large quantity of petroleum needed to produce new plastic containers. news@khaleejtimes.com For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
Medical professionals can practise across UAE
Medical professionals can practise across UAE Asma Ali Zain / 30 January 2014 Shaikh Mohammed attends signing of an agreement for the unification of licences for medical practitioners in the country at Arab Health Congress. An agreement has paved the way for professionals from the health ministry to work freely across the country. The move is expected to further enhance the quality of healthcare in the UAE and also counter any staff shortages. Shaikh Mohammed and Shaikh Hamdan at the 39th Arab Health Exhibition & Congress at the Dubai International Convention & Exhibition Centre on Wednesday. — Wam His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, on Wednesday attended the signing of an agreement for the unification of licences for medical practitioners in the country, on the sidelines of his visit to the Arab Health Exhibition and Congress at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre. Also present was Shaikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai. “A new step on the right path in order to unify the regulations, laws and procedures governing this noble human profession,” said Shaikh Mohammed while commending the signing of the agreement. The ruling will be applicable within the next three months. The agreement was signed by Minister of Health, Abdul Rahman bin Mohammed Al Owais, Director-General of the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) Essa Al Maidoor, and Dr Maha Barakat, Director-General of the Abu Dhabi Health Authority (Haad). Health authorities of Dubai and Abu Dhabi had signed an agreement in 2012 to allow medical professionals of both emirates to work freely for each other. The move was followed by Dubai Healthcare City. Wednesday’s signing now allows professionals from the health ministry to work for the authorities and vice versa. Over 200 professionals from the DHA have been licensed by Haad since the agreement and vice versa. Commenting on the agreement, Al Maidoor said: “We are living in one country…we have doctors and technical staff in different fields of medicine who change their places between the emirates. “So in this way we are unifying when the doctor is tested or interviewed by any of the authorities, he practice freely between any other emirate,” he said. “This will be more flexible, unify the requirements between the emirates and guarantee the quality of work,” he added. Al Maidoor said that a legislation would govern the agreement and in case of violation, action would be taken. Currently, there are 18,000 licensed professionals in the private and government health sector in Dubai and 22,000 in Abu Dhabi. No comment was available from the health ministry. Health professionals, however, said that though it would now be easier to share expertise and experience especially in some sub-specialties of the medical field, general practitioners may not be able to benefit much. Some UAE national specialists are already allowed to work between both emirates. (With inputs from Wam) asmaalizain@khaleejtimes.com For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
