27 healthcare facilities to get accreditation

BY PMA RASHEED

The Gulf Today, 18 Jan 2010

A total of 27 healthcare facilities under the UAE Ministry of Health (MoH) will  obtain international accreditation, in association with the Mihalik Group (TMG) from the US.

The initial visit for the inspection of the global healthcare consulting firm has been made at Al Qassimi Hospital in Sharjah in the presence of Health Minister Dr Hanif Hassan on Sunday.

A senior MoH member said the evaluation methods will enable the health care sector to reach international standards in quality and service.

Dr Amin Al Amiri, CEO for Medical Practice and License at the MoH, said: “Fourteen hospitals, 12 health centres and Sharjah blood transfusion centre have been listed in the international accreditation programme for the UAE healthcare facilities.”

According to him, the Mihalik is a global healthcare consulting firm assisting hospitals and other health facilities world wide with accreditation-related, quality improvement and educational activities.

“The Mihalik’s specialised services such as accreditation preparation, regulatory compliance, accreditation programme development and quality improvement will be utilised by the MoH as part of the programme. The global institution also will provide training and education on accreditation standards, survey processes and quality improvement,” he added.

“In the second stage, the MoH will approach the international firm to get the more hospitals accredited, the rest of the firm’s services also will be utilised in future,” pointed out Dr Amiri.

“We are planning to include 40 hospitals, 67 health centres, seven dental clinics, 10 preventive medical centres and the Sharjah blood centre in the later stages,” he noted.

According to him, a committee will be formed to supervise and coordinate with the Mihalik healthcare consultants. The committee members are Dr Ahmad Al Zarooni (Head of the MoH Licensing Dept) and Dr Fatima Al Awadi (Head of Medical Stores Dept at the MoH).

“Dr Mai Yassin (Technical Head of Sharjah Blood Transfusion Centre), Huda Al Shami (Deputy Manager of Quality Control and Medical Approval Department at the MoH), Dr Hessa Mubarak and Dr Fatima Al Marzouki from the MoH Licensing Dept are also included in the committee,” he added.