Dubai Health Authority takes on 10-year health plan

Every public and private healthcare centre is to be surveyed to identify any gaps in service, Dubai Health Authority (DHA) said today.

The in-depth survey, titled Dubai Clinical Services Capacity Plan 2020, will begin on Sunday and end on October 25.

The information gathered will help in the short term and allow the DHA to plan ahead, said Qadhi Saeed Al Murooshid, the director general.

"This project is of critical importance as we will use this data to develop a detailed present and future healthcare services needs assessment for the coming 10 years," Mr Al Murooshid said.

The survey will, among other things, show the average stay of in-patients and bed-space capacity, said Dr Awatif Abuhaliga, the head of policy, strategy and planning at DHA.

"Such data is vital to prepare a 10-year healthcare capacity plan for the emirate of Dubai," said the doctor.

The data is expected to be released next April.

zalhassani@thenational.ae