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 Qadhi Saeed Al Murooshid, Director-General of the Dubai Health Authority submitted a new plan to encourage the private sector to participate more in UAE healthcare. Al Murooshid commented at the Arab Health Congress “At the DHA, we don’t consider the private sector to be our competitors, we consider them to be our partners in our race for excellence in healthcare. This is in line with the strategy of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai to ensure Dubai retains its position as a regional business hub”.
He said “The DHA launched a breakthrough initiative for the first time on a diverse communication tool, which has yet to be implemented by other Government entities in the Emirate. For businesses that are in the Emirate, we have issued details of our Tawajud service, which is a door-to-door medical service in Russian, French, Chinese, Korean, Urdu, Arabic and English. This will help reach out to wide business audience base. For potential investors who would like to know about our online licensing system, ‘Sheryan‘, we have also launched booklets several languages including French, Chinese, Korean, Urdu, Arabic and English to ensure we reach out to a wide audience base and target potential investors anywhere in the world”.
‘Sheryan‘ is an online licensing system which gives investors the ability to apply wherever they are. Talking about investment in healthcare Al Murooshid added “Today there are over 20 hospitals in the private and public sector and within the next six months, two more hospitals will be added to the sector. Presently, the private sector contribution is almost equal to the public contribution. Around 47 percent of healthcare services are provided by private hospitals and the rest is provided by public hospitals”.
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 The public satisfaction among healthcare in Qatar will be measured by the Supreme Council of Health (SCH) survey. This study will consider all private clinics and hospitals, the facilities under the Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), and the primary health centers. “The survey will be carried out by a competent private agency and will cover a large cross-section of the Qatari and expatriate population. The purpose is to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the healthcare sector, with a focus on each provider. No such survey on this scale was carried out in the country in the past” Dr. Jamal Rashid Al Khanji, director of the Healthcare Quality Management Department told The Peninsula yesterday.
Levels of prices, treatment, waiting time, facilities, customer care and the performance of doctors, paramedics and other medical areas will be evaluated by asking people. “We are working on the details to make the survey as comprehensive as possible. Besides asking people to fill up a questionnaire, the survey team may also contact people directly over telephone since this is found to be a best way to get their opinion. Since it is an extensive survey, it would take several months to complete. We expect to complete the project by the year-end. The findings will be published for information of the public” added Al Khanji.
SCH will be able to detect the inappropriate hospitals with this survey. “We will contact them directly and force them to take the necessary steps to improve their services. SCH will soon announce the findings of a previous survey focusing on patient safety in the public and private health care facilities in the country” Al Khanji revealed.
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 The meningitis scare across Kuwait is removed by the Ministry of Health efforts, as a senior government official announced. He commented “The few cases that were admitted to local public hospitals have been cured”. Mustafa Al-Shamali, Minister of Health said in statements made to Al-Shahed “Kuwait is free from meningitis, and all rumors about widespread infection are fabricated”. Dr. Qais Al-Duwairi, MoH Assistant Undersecretary for Public Health Affairs revealed that in all Kuwait‘s public medical facilities only 5 neisseria meningitis cases which are not epidemic were detected. Also he added that it’s believed by more than 20,000 people that they contacted with the five infected cases.
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 Abdul Mohsen al Muhaisen Sons Holding Company has took Muscat Capital, the investment banking subsidiary of Bank Muscat in Saudi Arabia as its financial adviser. The company has lately signed an agreement with the Ministry of Health, King Fahad Medical City in order to develop, design, finance and commission Saudi Particle Centre (SPC) project- a proton therapy centre for treatment of cancer patients.
Abdul Razak Ali Issa said: “We are pleased to be appointed as the financial adviser of Abdul Mohsen al Muhaisen Sons Holding Company and the Saudi Particle Centre (SPC) project. Bank Muscat is committed to offering all facilities to ensure the success of the health project. The new financial advisory mandate strengthens the bank’s track record of successful transactions amidst challenging market conditions. We are grateful to Abdul Mohsen al Muhaisen Sons Holding Company for placing their confidence in us. We would also like to thank the Ministry of Health for their guidance and support”.
He added “Bank Muscat is one of the few GCC, based banks which is in a position to provide customers and counterparts pan-GCC coverage. We are confident that the skills and the extended franchise of Bank Muscat in Saudi Arabia will enable us to continue our successful run as the number one team in the region”. The Muscat Capital will be responsible for preparation of financial model for the project to ensure model key financing options, and preparation of a financing strategy for successful fund- raising and identifying potential lenders (local, regional, international), negotiation and execution of financing agreements.
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 Dr. Jadwiga Mierzejewska recently joined the team in Al Rawdah German Medical Center in Abu Dhabi as a Pediatrics Specialist. Dr. Mierzejewska has 24 years of professional experience as a pediatric doctor includes 18 years in Abu Dhabi. She has worked closely to newborn babies and treated children in pediatric outpatient clinics with a variety of chronic disabling conditions. Dr. Hans-Joachim Poessel, Managing Director for Al Rawdah German Medical Center revealed that Dr. Mierzejewska has an excellent knowledge of pediatric healthcare due to her previous position as Head of the Pediatric Department at the Gulf Diagnostics Center for the past 12 years.
He said “The Center has been working hard to secure a full time Pediatrician for our patients and we are excited to have Dr. Mierzejewska as part of our team of specialists. The skills and experience which Dr. Mierzejewska brings to our Center will greatly compliment the services we currently provide, while further meeting the requests from our patients and local residents”. The center was opened since 2007 offering high quality standard of medical treatments by professional doctors who use the latest German technology and equipment.
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 The Iraqi health ministry announced establishing 18 hospitals across the country coasting US$2 billion. Adil Mohsen, General Inspector at the ministry said “The majority of the hospitals will have at least 100-bed capacities that will be constructed according to world standards”. The total number of public and private hospitals in Iraq is 321 containing a total medical staff of 25,000.
Mohsen added “Among the hospitals will be specialized hospitals for heart disease, nervous system, burns, and maternity”. The ministry put a budget exceeds US$6 billion in 2012 which will be spent on establishing 150 clinics, and cooperating with more doctors including Indian medical practitioners.
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 An agreement was signed in Dubai between the agency of the Department of Economic Development and S.S.Lootah Group to allow students of medicine and pharmacy to present projects in these fields. Dubai SME headquarters in the Business Village hosted the signature between Ibtihal Al Naji, Senior Manager, Government Procurement Program (GPP) at Dubai SME, and Yousif Saeed Lootah, Board Member of S.S.Lootah Group.
“This initiative is in line with Dubai SME‘s strategy to continually enhance the services provided for Emirati entrepreneurs and promote cooperation and exchange of experiences in the scientific, training and professional fields. Through our partnership with S.S.Lootah, we seek to nurture a generation capable of confidently stepping into the world of trade and investment with their experience in the field of healthcare” said Al Naji.
He added “Dubai SME supports healthcare projects and we have a number of members currently engaged in such initiatives. We support them and provide necessary counsel on their chosen sectors, notably pharmacy and general medicine. Together with S.S.Lootah, we will form a specialized team to develop suggestions, studies and programs to achieve the objectives of this strategic agreement. The first phase will start with an introduction to Dubai SME‘s services available for medical and pharmacy students”.
Lootah commented “The growing health sector in the UAE and the GCC in general offers varied investment opportunities, especially with technology fast evolving. Studies conducted by S.S.Lootah showed that a sizeable section of the fresh graduates in healthcare would prefer to work on establishing new projects such as specialized services centers for large hospitals or smaller clinics and health centers”. Submitting new vacancies by S.S.Lootah Group with international participation help encouraging small and medium enterprises.
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 The Dubai Health Authority announced a standardized policy improving immunization services, particularly childhood vaccination, at all hospitals and clinics. This policy was decided to be applied after deep research. Laila Al Jassmi, CEO of Health Policy and Strategy at the DHA, said “Prior to introducing this policy, we conducted a detailed analysis of the immunization services in Dubai and later analyzed the data and identified existing gaps”. In order to offer this service clinics must be licensed as Vaccine-Qualified Clinics (VQCs). Dr Aizeldin Ibrahim, Acting Director of Public Health and Safety, Health Policy and Strategy Sector at the DHA, commented “The policy was a result of an in-depth study”.
He added that in 2009 a study showed that 28% of the clinics were not following the national immunization schedule, 41% didn’t have reminder system and 48% had a shortage of tracking defaulters systems. Also accidents and mistakes occurred in 46% of private healthcare facilities weren’t informed. However, only 38% of clinics applied the immunization registry system and 88% of the private hospitals followed specific policy to maintain cold chain.
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Dubai, UAE: In the United Arab Emirates, there have been a number of infants and young children harmed by accidental overdoses from cough and cold medications when a parent has mixed different medications together or gave too high a dose. As a precautionary measure, in March 2009, the UAE Ministry of Health (MoH) prohibited over-the-counter (OTC) cough and cold products to be given for children less than 6-years-old and stated that these medicines should only be prescribed by the physician for these children. In addition, for these products to be used for older children (more than 6 years old), they only can be dispensed by the pharmacist.
Again in October 2011, the MoH reviewed the mode of dispensing of all medications, and listed the majority of cough and cold products as Pharmacist Only Medications (Ph-OM), where a medicine may be supplied without prescription but must be dispensed by a licensed pharmacist and the location of medicine should not be accessed by customers directly. This is to ensure that the consumer will have detailed information about the dose and all the precautionary measures to prevent accidental overdose and to check the suitability of the medicine for the patient.
Medication safety is a hot topic at the upcoming Arab Health Exhibition and Congress which takes place from 23-26 January 2012 at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre. Dr Yasser Sharif, Section Head, Medication and Medical Products Safety and Manager of Poison and Drug Information Center, Health Authority – Abu Dhabi (HAAD), will be speaking on ‘A Toxicologist’s Perspective on Cough and Cold Medications for Children’ during the 5th Middle East Paediatrics Conference at Arab Health.
“Whilst national data for poisoning cases for cough and cold medications are scarce, data from HAAD’s Poison and Drug Information Center (PDIC) shows that out of the 200 cases of poisoning that were received by PDIC during the last 2 years, 14 cases or 7%, were due to cough and cold products,” says Dr Sharif.
The American Academy of Pediatrics concurs that cough and cold medicines should not be given to babies and young children under two years of age and there is limited evidence for their benefit, particularly for infants and young children. No studies have proven the benefit of cough and cold preparations in facilitating recovery from these illnesses, and most children will eventually improve on their own.
Dr Sharif explains that the potential toxicities of cough and cold medicines vary with their composition and that many products contain multiple substances including a decongestant, cough suppressant, antihistamine, and/or antipyretic/ analgesic.
Pseudoephedrine, for example, is a decongestant used to relieve congestion that is present in most cough and cold preparation. Toxicity presents with nervous system stimulation, hypertension, and increased heart rate. It can also cause extreme agitation, excitability, insomnia, psychosis, and seizures.
Many cough and cold preparations also include antihistamines such as chlorpheniramine and brompheniramine. Adverse effects and clinical toxicity of antihistamines can also cause increased heart rate, blurred vision, agitation, drowsiness, confusion, psychoses, seizures and hallucinations may develop with moderate poisoning.
“Doctors should be more vigilant and enquire more often about OTCs when evaluating an ill child in order to avoid duplicate therapy, which may lead to overdose and toxicity. The best medicine is education. Parents need to understand the duration and expected symptoms of common cold, and to know what specific changes in symptoms would warrant a re-evaluation by their child’s physician,” says Dr Sharif.
“Parents must give their children the recommended dose with the correct frequency or length of therapy and they should also use a correct measuring device that is provided with the medicine. Some parents may intentionally give children a higher dose or increase length of therapy while other parents may continue to use these medications as treatment for one of the side effect e.g. sedation to make their children sleep.”
In case of an overdose parents are advised to seek medical help at their nearest emergency room or call the Poison and Drug Information Centre on the toll free number 800424.
For more information about the Arab Health Exhibition & Congress, please visit www.arabhealthonline.com, or call +971 4 407 2743.
About Informa Exhibitions:
For more information about Informa Exhibitions, please visit www.informaexhibitions.com.
About Abu Dhabi Health Authority (HAAD):
For more information about (HAAD), please visit www.haad.ae.
For media enquiries please contact:
Inga Stevens
PR and Social Media Manager
Life Science Division
Informa Exhibitions
T: +971 4 407 2743
F: +971 4 336 4021
inga.stevens@informa.com
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 Qadi Saeed Al Murooshid, Director-General of Dubai Health Authority announced that Al Maktoum Accident and Emergency Hospital will help the residents of new Dubai. This announcement was made at the first Global Network Conference on Emergency Medicine, which attracted more than 1,500 doctors, researchers, educators and medical professionals from across the world, and Shaikh Mansour Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum inaugurated it.
Al Murooshid said “The conference was significant because it discussed pertinent topics in the field of emergency medicine, trauma and multi-trauma as well as the latest advances in crisis management and natural catastrophes”. He added that all emergency medicine professionals had a deep look in this field at the conference. He also submitted a presentation of the DHA’s strategy to further strengthen emergency medicine in the emirate which showed Rashid Hospital and Dubai Hospital achievements.
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