211 licences issued to private health facilities in 2018

ABU DHABI / WAM

The Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP), issued operating licences to 211 health facilities in the country this year as well as ordered the closure of 24 private companies for non-compliance with the set regulations.
The issuance of licences and closure orders are part of the ministry’s supervisory mandate and a part of its strategy to implement globally recognised standards across healthcare facilities in the country.
While it is keen to build a partnership with private medical hospitals and pharmaceutical companies, it is also obligated to ensure compliance with the existing laws and regulations that promote the health of the society, the ministry said.
According to the ministry, the large number of new medical centres reflects a faster and transparent licencing system within the organisation, which has been put in place to attract investments in the health and pharmaceutical industries.
On the closure of health facilities and companies, Dr Hessa Mubarak, Director of the Department of Health Empowerment and Compliance of the Public Health Policy and Licences Department, revealed that out the 24 private companies ordered shut down by the ministry, 11 were health centres and 13 were pharmacies. The move was based on the provisions of the Medical and Pharmaceutical Licences Committee No. 04 of 2015 concerning private health facilities and No. 04 of 1983 concerning pharmaceutical facilities.
The number of closed facilities significantly dropped this year from 42 in 2017, an indication of the rising compliance of the regulations by companies. The ministry has also been organising programmes and seminars to guarantee that all players in the local health sector adhere to the highest standards of quality and excellence, increase their awareness of health laws and regulations and strengthen its own monitoring mechanism to catch violators.
The 24 facilities have been given two weeks to comply with the standards. Failure to do so will result in the revocation of their licence. Prior to the cancellation, the ministry will consider their violations and their impact it could have on public and individual health. The order was released after recommendations by the ministry’s inspection and control teams.
The teams found that some establishments failed to conform to safety standards, with some even allowing unlicensed doctors and technicians to practice. Others also got failing remarks on proper waste disposal and storage of medicines. Other violations included non-compliance with the medical and technical safety requirements in operating rooms and the engineering standards; improper sterilization of medical instruments; lack of ventilation system; manipulation of controlled medicines, and dispensation of antibiotics without prescriptions.
The inspection and control teams conduct random visits to health facilities and also schedule an inspection if a complaint is filed on the ministry’s portal. Violators are slapped with fines based on the provisions of the existing health regulations. According to the ministry, the temporary closure provides erring establishments with an opportunity to take the necessary corrective actions. The inspection teams will visit the violators anew to check their compliance.
The ministry took the opportunity to praise the companies that adhere to health laws and regulations, applauding them for their concern to their patients and their contributions to community health.
As part of its “Year of Zayed” initiatives, the ministry inspected private health facilities before the end of the holy month of Ramadan to improve patient care and the quality of their services. The findings of those visits were not publicly released. The inspections also aimed to strengthen the ministry’s relations with the health and pharmaceutical establishments, improve health care services in the country, identify issues, prevent non-compliance, find solutions to repeated violations, and implement improvements in current regulations to meet needs, and measure public satisfaction through surveys.