ABU DHABI // Health chiefs admitted on Wednesday that their resources and staff were not being used efficiently, but insisted they were working to remedy deficiencies.
The Ministry of Health was responding to a World Bank study that showed 45 per cent of its specialised equipment and personnel were not being used.
Dr Amin Al Amiri, assistant undersecretary for public health policy and licensing at the ministry, said it acknowledged the report’s findings and was looking to address any gaps in the distribution of services.
“We appreciate the comments of the World Bank and it has been taken into serious consideration,” Dr Al Amiri said.
“The study reflects the position of the hospitals at the ministry from a couple of years back and a lot of changes and improvements have taken place recently, in which for sure it will change the percentage that has been given by the World Bank.”
The World Bank’s findings were revealed by Obaid Al Tayer, Minister of State for Financial Affairs, at the FNC last week.
Mr Al Tayer said the health system was not suffering from a lack of funds, but services and assets needed to be redistributed. He said there were some areas where supply of beds and specialists exceeded demand, and some where more beds were needed.
“We prefer to treat our issues, and the treatment does not lie in increasing budgets but through reorganisation,” Mr Al Tayer said.
Dubai FNC member Hamad Al Rahoomi was not convinced.
“This is great if it were the reality, but the reality says something completely different,” Mr Al Rahoomi said. “Some hospitals don’t have enough beds to accept patients or enough doctors to treat them.”
Mr Al Rahoomi said that patients faced complications with hospital transfers, “and the only available appointments are months ahead”.
“So there is 45 per cent extra resources available that is not being used? This is either a waste of resources or poor distribution.”
There are more than 70 public and private hospitals in the UAE. A Colliers International report issued in late 2013 said that about 36.4 per cent of all hospitals were owned and operated by the ministry.
Dr Al Amiri said the ministry would be providing new information to the World Bank early next year.
“We will be updating the World Bank and the media with a new report that complies with the expectations of our Government and the community in the Emirates,” he said.
The report drew concern from medical experts, who called for a more streamlined approach to distributing healthcare resources.
“The need for greater efficiency is well recognised by regulators in the UAE,” said Ali Hashemi, managing partner of Avicenna Partners, a healthcare investment company in Dubai.
“Congestion in ICU [intensive-care unit] beds has been highlighted by the Health Authority Abu Dhabi in each of the past four to five years, each time accompanied by statements about the need for greater investment in the continuum of care.
“Placing long-term ICU patients in more suitable facilities could alone have a substantial impact on the efficiency of the UAE health system, not to mention greater use of rehabilitation, home care and other community-based options.”
Magi Livadaris, vice president of clinical operations for Amana Healthcare, which runs rehabilitation and long-term acute care centres, said:
“Better coordination between the public and private sectors would also help.
“Government hospitals in the UAE have made great strides at improving case management and communication in the past few years, and many have benefited significantly from the resulting efficiency gains.”
hdajani@thenational.ae