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Law on nursing and midwifery on anvil

Health authorities are drafting the country’s first federal law on nursing and midwifery, which will ensure patient safety and quality care.

Expected to be presented to the Cabinet soon, the law will unify a number of existing policies and regulations and will also define nurses’ scope of practice in detail, said a senior official.

“This will be one practice law that will give clear guidelines on safety of patients and provision of quality care,” said Dr Fatima Al Rifai, Director of Nursing at the Federal Department of Nursing, Ministry of Health.

Though a couple of drafts of the law have been ready since 1996, a decree issued in 2009 placed the draft under the UAE Nursing and Midwifery Council. Currently, a committee from the council is reviewing the final draft expected to be ready by the year end.

“Nurses are already governed by different scopes of practice at the ministry, Health Authority of Abu Dhabi and Dubai Health Authority,” she told Khaleej Times on Sunday.

“But there was a need for a standard system,” she added.

A number of challenges face the profession of nursing and midwifery in the country including a shortage of the workforce and an image crisis that prevent Emiratis from joining this sector.

In 2009, UAE Nursing and Midwifery Council headed by 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, was set up to authorise health organisations as nursing training centers and propose new legislations and practices to promote nursing and midwifery to achieve quality and excellence in services.

During the council’s third meeting held recently, Dr Hanif Hassan, UAE Minister of Health, said the country was ‘keen to develop the profession. ’

He called upon the council members to examine the challenges facing the profession, support specialised studies and encourage locals to study the major and take up the profession.

Government support has recently seen in the opening of the Fujairah Nursing Institute for this purpose. As per the WHO recommendations, authorities are also planning to allow graduates with science qualifications to obtain a nursing and midwifery certificate after completion of certain time period in service. “This is being done in developed countries and will help increase the number of workforce,” said Dr Fatima.

The council also commissioned a latest research study on nursing titled “Quality of healthcare in UAE hospitals” in cooperation with Pennsylvania University, USA.

“The study will include 28 public and private hospitals and data collection is expected to start soon,” said Dr Fatima.

asmaalizain@khaleejtimes.com