ABU DHABI // Hospitals will have to follow rigid new rules for managing disasters by the end of the month.
The new standards will provide action plans that healthcare providers must follow in emergencies, said Dr Wafa El Adhami, the manager of policy and research at the Health Authority - Abu Dhabi (Haad).
"If there is a chemical spill on a highway, for example, there will be many people involved and health professionals will be at the scene," Dr El Adhami said.
"The guidelines will clearly specify how these patients should be transported to the hospital, decontamination procedures and the resources that the hospital must be equipped with to handle the situation."
The guidelines will be released on Haad's website this week and will cover internal and external emergencies, Dr El Adhami said.
Under Haad's previous policy, hospitals had to submit their own disaster management plans according to a set of guidelines.
The new procedures will complement the authority's Environment Health Safety and Management Systems standard.
The importance of hospital safety was underscored this month in Kolkata, India when a hospital fire resulted in 90 deaths, of which 86 were patients.
Published in July, the health authority's plans covers 34 private and public hospitals.
"Evacuation maps must be posted throughout all facilities in a manner that is visible and ready for all occupants, and emergency assembly must be defined and clearly marked," said Dr Jens Thomsen, the head of occupational and environment health at Haad.
The rules also state each workplace "must have fire-detection and alarm systems, and firefighting equipment appropriate to the risks present", and that all emergencies must be reported to Haad.
Next month hospitals are expected to submit proposals that comply with the Environment Health Safety and Management Systems for approval. They will then have 12 months for full implementation.
Last January, Haad issued health-centre guidelines that obliged investors to follow architectural and construction requirements before applying for a licence.
Before the guidelines were in place, Haad was following international standards that "did not take the Abu Dhabi environment into consideration", said Dr Adeeb Al Zaabi, the manager of health facilities and licensing at the authority.
"The new guidelines have been customised for the emirate," Dr Al Zaabi said. "We need to take into consideration the culture of the UAE and the layout of the hospital, which often has larger rooms including dedicated rooms for prayer, as well as typical weather and traffic conditions."
Existing hospitals in high-rise buildings are required to modify their floor plans to follow the new regulations as closely as possible, he said.
"For example, the emergency department should always be on the ground floor," Dr Al Zaabi said.
Hospitals must also follow requirements set by Civil Defence and the Abu Dhabi Municipality.
Staircases must be large enough to accommodate stretchers during emergencies when elevators cannot be used, and there must be ramps on each floor.
Hospitals have already implemented policies according to the existing Haad requirements.
Lifeline Hospital, in a 21-floor building in the capital, has "floor controllers" to manage each level. The hospital occupies the ground floor and the first three levels in the building, and each floor has two fire exits.
"The moment there is a fire, the incident is announced, Civil Defence and Haad are notified," said Manjula Venkatappa, the operations manager at the hospital.
"Patients are placed into four categories and are attended to accordingly. All staff is trained how to evacuate patients who cannot move or need immediate help."
Mafraq Hospital has introduced a 10-code system, one for each type of emergency, including fires and hazardous spills.
"Each type of emergency has a dedicated team," said Tavoos Bhat, the hospital's safety officer. "We have a fire engineer at the hospital at all times in case there is a code red."
The hospital used to conduct annual fire drills in each department, but after receiving accreditation by Joint Commission International, it now conducts drills for each type of emergency.
Under the new standards all drills will have to be documented and submitted to the health authority for review.
"Drills will have to be carried out at least once a year for all types of emergencies," Dr Thomsen said. "We must do our best to eliminate the risks that could endanger the lives of both patients and staff."
mismail@thenational.ae
The%20specs
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Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh132,000 (Countryman)
FROM%20THE%20ASHES
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Company profile
Company: Eighty6
Date started: October 2021
Founders: Abdul Kader Saadi and Anwar Nusseibeh
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Hospitality
Size: 25 employees
Funding stage: Pre-series A
Investment: $1 million
Investors: Seed funding, angel investors
Countdown to Zero exhibition will show how disease can be beaten
Countdown to Zero: Defeating Disease, an international multimedia exhibition created by the American Museum of National History in collaboration with The Carter Center, will open in Abu Dhabi a month before Reaching the Last Mile.
Opening on October 15 and running until November 15, the free exhibition opens at The Galleria mall on Al Maryah Island, and has already been seen at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
AL%20BOOM
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Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
CONCRETE COWBOY
Directed by: Ricky Staub
Starring: Idris Elba, Caleb McLaughlin, Jharrel Jerome
3.5/5 stars
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Which honey takes your fancy?
Al Ghaf Honey
The Al Ghaf tree is a local desert tree which bears the harsh summers with drought and high temperatures. From the rich flowers, bees that pollinate this tree can produce delicious red colour honey in June and July each year
Sidr Honey
The Sidr tree is an evergreen tree with long and strong forked branches. The blossom from this tree is called Yabyab, which provides rich food for bees to produce honey in October and November. This honey is the most expensive, but tastiest
Samar Honey
The Samar tree trunk, leaves and blossom contains Barm which is the secret of healing. You can enjoy the best types of honey from this tree every year in May and June. It is an historical witness to the life of the Emirati nation which represents the harsh desert and mountain environments
Analysis
Members of Syria's Alawite minority community face threat in their heartland after one of the deadliest days in country’s recent history. Read more
Mia Man’s tips for fermentation
- Start with a simple recipe such as yogurt or sauerkraut
- Keep your hands and kitchen tools clean. Sanitize knives, cutting boards, tongs and storage jars with boiling water before you start.
- Mold is bad: the colour pink is a sign of mold. If yogurt turns pink as it ferments, you need to discard it and start again. For kraut, if you remove the top leaves and see any sign of mold, you should discard the batch.
- Always use clean, closed, airtight lids and containers such as mason jars when fermenting yogurt and kraut. Keep the lid closed to prevent insects and contaminants from getting in.
Breast cancer in men: the facts
1) Breast cancer is men is rare but can develop rapidly. It usually occurs in those over the ages of 60, but can occasionally affect younger men.
2) Symptoms can include a lump, discharge, swollen glands or a rash.
3) People with a history of cancer in the family can be more susceptible.
4) Treatments include surgery and chemotherapy but early diagnosis is the key.
5) Anyone concerned is urged to contact their doctor
TWISTERS
Director: Lee Isaac Chung
Starring: Glen Powell, Daisy Edgar-Jones, Anthony Ramos
Rating: 2.5/5
SAUDI RESULTS
Team Team Pederson (-40), Team Kyriacou (-39), Team De Roey (-39), Team Mehmet (-37), Team Pace (-36), Team Dimmock (-33)
Individual E. Pederson (-14), S. Kyriacou (-12), A van Dam (-12), L. Galmes (-12), C. Hull (-9), E. Givens (-8),
G. Hall (-8), Ursula Wikstrom (-7), Johanna Gustavsson (-7)
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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What is an ETF?
An exchange traded fund is a type of investment fund that can be traded quickly and easily, just like stocks and shares. They come with no upfront costs aside from your brokerage's dealing charges and annual fees, which are far lower than on traditional mutual investment funds. Charges are as low as 0.03 per cent on one of the very cheapest (and most popular), Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, with the maximum around 0.75 per cent.
There is no fund manager deciding which stocks and other assets to invest in, instead they passively track their chosen index, country, region or commodity, regardless of whether it goes up or down.
The first ETF was launched as recently as 1993, but the sector boasted $5.78 billion in assets under management at the end of September as inflows hit record highs, according to the latest figures from ETFGI, a leading independent research and consultancy firm.
There are thousands to choose from, with the five largest providers BlackRock’s iShares, Vanguard, State Street Global Advisers, Deutsche Bank X-trackers and Invesco PowerShares.
While the best-known track major indices such as MSCI World, the S&P 500 and FTSE 100, you can also invest in specific countries or regions, large, medium or small companies, government bonds, gold, crude oil, cocoa, water, carbon, cattle, corn futures, currency shifts or even a stock market crash.
