DHA simplifies medical complaints procedure

Medical complaints committee will require testimonies of doctors and complainants only in major malpractice cases

DUBAI - According to a new and simplified medical complaints procedure announced by the Dubai Health Authority, the medical complaints committee will require testimonies of doctors and complainants only in major malpractice cases.

Doctors and complainants will no longer be interviewed for minor complaints and major straight forward cases,and this will help resolve medical malpractice cases faster.

‘The committee decides which cases are minor and which ones are major,’ said Dr Layla Mohamed Al Marzouqi, Head of Clinical Governance Office, DHA Health Regulation Department on Monday. ‘The committee will only interview complainants and doctors for major malpractice cases which require testimonies from both sides and not all major cases which are clear and have straight forward outcomes. However, the committee will interview every case which is considered to be that of malpractice and the doctor will be interviewed in such an instance,’ she added.Also, the time taken to resolve cases depends on the nature of complaints. ‘We have had cases that have been resolved within a month but certain other cases have taken up to nine months,’ said Dr Layla.

‘Previously, the medical investigation committee interviewed every case which fell into the ‘major’ category, irrespective of whether the outcome was clear or not. Now, we will choose only those cases which require an interview.’She also said major cases are complaints that need to be investigated immediately by a committee without assessment including procedures involving wrong body parts or a wrong medical medication which caused serious repercussions, including death. In 2009, the health regulation department received 70 complaints while in 2010 the total complaints received were 150. This year, 215 complaints have been received until now. Of the 70 complaints in 2009, 16 were negligence cases, two were malpractice cases, 13 were negligence and malpractice cases, 23 cases showed no malpractice and negligence and the remainder of cases were either non-medical or the complainant withdrew the case. Similarly in 2010, 21 were negligence cases, 14 were malpractice cases, 12 were negligence and malpractice cases, 56 cases showed no malpractice and negligence and the remainder of cases were either non-medical or the complainant withdrew the case.

And in 2011, one case was that of negligence, 12 were malpractice cases, 56 cases showed no malpractice or negligence and the rest are still under investigation.

asmaalizain@khaleejtimes.com

• UAE