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Ministry closes four medical facilities for violating rules

The Ministry of Health and Prevention has shut down four medical facilities for violations that affect public health.
The duration of the closure varies from one to six months, depending on the violation and its direct impact on public health. Violations included doctors and technicians practising without a licence from the ministry, failure of the facility to comply with hygiene and sterilisation standards; disposal of medical waste not in accordance with local and international laws and standards, non-compliance with standards for storage of pharmaceuticals products and non-compliance with medical and technical safety requirements for operation rooms.
A medical centre and the surgery department in a one-day surgery hospital were closed for violating Federal Law No. 4 of 2015 regarding private health facilities and two pharmacies were shut for violating Federal Law No. 4 of 1983 regarding pharmacy and pharmaceutical institutions during the first four months of 2017.
"One of the most serious violations is the manipulation of records on the disbursement of controlled drugs, which can have negative implications on community safety," said Dr Amin Hussein Al Amiri, assistant undersecretary for public health policy and licensing sector and vice-chairman of the Medical Licensing Committee.
"The decision to close a number of healthcare facilities was based on the results of recent inspections and monitoring as these facilities had violated a number of health laws and safety standards," he said.
He said that the ministry paid special attention to concerns of patients and their families who opt for treatment in private healthcare facilities in order to promote and protect the health of society at every level.
The ministry's monitoring teams observed multiple violations at healthcare facilities during 507 inspections in the first quarter of 2017.
Dr Amiri said that during regular visits to private health facilities, inspection teams observed compliance with medical and pharmaceutical practices as per the laws and legislations.
The inspections were conducted at 194 healthcare facilities and 313 pharmaceutical establishments, including private hospitals, healthcare centres, clinics and specialised centres with private pharmacies in the Northern Emirates.
asmaalizain@khaeejtimes.com
Licences for new facilities
Since the beginning of this year, 45 new private healthcare facilities - including 42 multi-disciplinary medical centres and three clinics - have been issued licences.
Dr Amiri said that the ministry is keen to implement laws and legislations that guarantee the provision of the best diagnosis and treatment by qualified medical practitioners, in advanced medical facilities equipped with high quality medicines stored and distributed according to the highest standards.