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UAE: Residents urged to report medical negligence, errors; ministry vows fines for violating health facilities

Mohap has stressed that it is open to receiving complaints about health facilities and their medical staff, and these can be filed through its smart system

Published: Sat 17 Dec 2022, 2:08 PM

Updated: Sat 17 Dec 2022, 4:27 PM

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The UAE's Ministry of Health and Prevention (Mohap) has called on residents to use its smart system to submit complaints or remarks against licensed private health and pharmaceutical facilities and medical staff.

Mohap handles all cases of medical negligence and errors committed by health facilities or medical staff "with complete accuracy and transparency," said Dr Hessa Ali Mubarak, director of the Control, Audit, and Inspection Department at the ministry.

Dr Hessa stressed that the ministry looks forward to curbing inappropriate practices and medical errors by imposing penalties and fines on violating entities.

"We are keen to undertake periodic oversight and inspections of private health facilities...to ensure compliance with the ministry's regulations and strengthen self-monitoring," she said.

Besides regular evaluations of healthcare establishments, Mohap is also open to receiving complaints from the public.

"This is part of the electronic services that we provide to improve the quality of the country's health system," Dr Hessa said.

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How Mohap processes complaints

The ministry provides customers with several electronic channels, including a tab on its website and a smart app. Residents may also visit customer happiness centres, and the ministry's premises in Dubai.

Upon submitting a complaint, the Control, Audit, and Inspection Department contacts the customer to confirm the receipt of the request and requests the medical file from the health facility concerned.

The case is then referred to the Medical Responsibility Committee, which speaks to the complainant as well as the health facility, evaluates the medical procedures applied by the doctor in the complaint case, issues a report, and notifies the parties concerned.

According to Federal Decree-Law No. (4) of 2016 on Medical Liability, the parties involved in the complaint have the right to file a grievance against the committee's report within 30 working days.

The grievance is forwarded to the Supreme Committee on Medical Liability for consideration, with its report to be subsequently forwarded to the ministry's Health Practice Oversight Committee, which takes the appropriate action against the health facility and medical staff accordingly.

The computerised system also allows the customer to follow up on the complaint's status through the inquiry process until a final judgment is made.

Medical complaints only

It should be noted that the electronic customer complaint system is dedicated only to medical practices.

Complaints about finances and insurance are not handled in the same system since they fall under the authority of consumer protection or judicial authorities.

Furthermore, the time frame for resolving medical concerns is determined by the nature of the issue. Therefore, complaints may need a more thorough investigation to protect the interests of all parties and obtain the best results.

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