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Six fold rise in medical violations in Dubai

Dubai - "While we have consistently educated clinical facilities on our quality and compliance standards since founding in 2002, we want patients to be more involved in their own care."

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Hiring of unlicensed medical employees topped the list of violations at medical facilities in Dubai Healthcare City (DHCC) in 2014-15, said a top official while announcing the first public list of violations and fines on Tuesday. The violations recorded at the DHCC within the same period increased six-fold - up from 13 in 2014 to 88 in 2015.
"This increase is expected and is at par with the free zone's expansion," said Dr Ramadan Al Blooshi, Chief Executive Officer, Dubai Healthcare City Authority - Regulation (DHCR).

Fines for health violations > Dh10,000 fine if sick leave certificate is given to an individual who did not attend the facility > Dh5,000 fine if a sick leave certificate is issued by a person who is not licensed to practise with the health operator > Dh5,000 fine if visit visa holders (sponsored by the facility) overstay by 30 days

By the end of 2015, clinical offerings in the free zone increased by 28 per cent to 159 from 124 in 2014, while on-site inspections were up from 30 in 2014 to 152 in 2015. Close to 120 violations, for both clinical and non-clinical activities within the free zone, were recorded during this period. Fines between Dh1,000-Dh25,000 will be issued and/or disciplinary measures such as warnings, suspension, permit cancellation and deregistration of a company will be taken starting April 1.
Violations included categories covering unlicensed employees (28 per cent), unlicensed services (22 per cent); unauthorised medical advertisements (16 per cent); and health and safety violations (9 per cent). Other common violations included failure to display patients' rights and responsibilities prominently in a healthcare facility and issuing a sick leave certificates without medical justification.
"While we have consistently educated clinical facilities on our quality and compliance standards since founding in 2002, we want patients to be more involved in their own care," said AlBlooshi.

List of health violations at medical facilities in DHCC 28% - Categories covering unlicensed employees 22% - Unlicensed services 16% - Unauthorised medical advertisements 9% - Health and safety violations

"By being transparent, we are empowering patients to play a proactive role in their safety with accessible tools to identify violations."
The 2016 list has been drawn by analysing data from compliance and assurance within the free zone, and standards by health authorities and other free zone jurisdictions. Last year, DHCR increased the number of licensed healthcare professionals by 20 per cent, licensing 919 healthcare professionals, bringing the total to 5,400 from 4,534 in 2014.
It also increased specialties by 68 per cent from 90 in 2014 to 152 in 2015. Majority of the violations are caught due to random inspections. "DHCR will continue to carry out random inspections to ensure the authority's regulations, policies and standards are being adhered to," said Dr AlBlooshi.
The complete list is available through the new DHCR portal (dhcr.gov.ae). asmaalizain@khaleejtimes.com