Dubai health plan mirrors nationwide movement

The Dubai Health Authority's healthcare master plan is the latest move in the country's mission to overhaul management of its medical system.

Dr Peyvand Khaleghian, left, and Dr Colin Feek, right, from Dubai Health Authority.

ABU DHABI // The Dubai Health Authority's healthcare master plan represents the latest move in the country's mission to overhaul management of its medical system. In recent years there has been a move away from a federal approach to health care, with Dubai and Abu Dhabi adopting their own management and regulatory authorities. In the capital, the Health Authority Abu Dhabi was established in 2007 to tailor services to the particular needs of people living in the emirate.

Last year, Dubai Health Authority was created for similar reasons, and since its inception has been working on a comprehensive way to boost standards and provide basic health care for its growing population. In the northern Emirates, the Ministry of Health retains control of management and services. All three systems work as separate entities but the Ministry of Health wants a "national health council to co-ordinate between different stakeholders in health care and health insurance".

However, since it was first announced in July last year, no further details have been released about when such a council would be created or how it would operate. Humaid al Qattami, the Minister of Health, said in a statement this week the body would "unify health policies in the UAE". But Mr al Qattami did not specify a time frame for the project. In the meantime, Dubai and Abu Dhabi continue to press ahead with their own visions. The situation in the northern Emirates remains unclear.

Recently, a number of health professionals have expressed concerns over the conflicting interests of the Ministry of Health and the bodies in the individual emirates. One such example involves the federal health insurance law, which the ministry said would be brought in by the end of last year - despite the fact that Abu Dhabi and Dubai had already created their own funding systems. In his statement, Mr al Qattami admitted the law had not yet been passed to the Ministerial Council. "I would like to highlight an important point in this regard," he said. "The health insurance law has been drawn in co-operation with concerned authorities and it will be referred to the Ministerial Cabinet after some revision."

He said it had to be studied carefully and in co-operation with other bodies, such as fatwas and legislators. Yesterday, doctors in the northern Emirates said they were very keen to see health insurance become mandatory as it would help more people afford basic health care. One doctor, who has worked in Ras al Khaimah for more than 20 years, said some patients had been bypassing doctors for medical advice and going straight to pharmacists to buy medication. He said some patients travelled to Abu Dhabi and Dubai for treatments that were not available in the northern Emirates.

"Like with a lot of things, money is not distributed fairly to the northern Emirates in health care," the doctor said. "They are planning the medical insurance for all people in the UAE. I know a lot of non-locals cannot afford to pay to see doctors so they get medicines from pharmacists. This is not good. Health insurance would stop this. It has helped in Abu Dhabi." Mr al Qattami also described proposed projects in the northern Emirates, including establishing a new hospital in Ras al Khaimah, a dental centre in Umm al Qaiwain and an intravenous injection unit in Ajman.

But he failed to comment on whether the global financial crisis was affecting any of the plans, or provide any firm dates for the completion of these projects. Mr al Qattami said 120 health centres in the northern Emirates were receiving new medical equipment and that the ministry was considering plans to "outfit the accredited centres with an emergency room, dental and paediatric clinic and a midwifery centre, according to the capacity of each centre". [e-mail]