DHA Health Regulation Department meets with private schools in Dubai

• Aim of meeting is to support private schools and update them with  new school health regulations.

• Queries and doubts of schools addressed in the meeting.

United Arab Emirates, Dubai, October 2, 2013: The Dubai Health Authority (DHA) Health Regulation Department in cooperation with Dubai Police recently organised a meeting for private schools in Dubai.

The aim of this annual meeting, which was sponsored by Bite Right and took place at the Taj Palace Hotel, was to provide schools with an overview of school health policies and discuss the latest standards required for school health clinics for this academic year.

The meeting was attended by more than 160 professionals from various private schools in Dubai.  Dr Ramadan Ibrahim, director of health regulation at the DHA said: “The aim of this meeting is to reinforce the fact that we are here to support schools to achieve optimum levels of school health in their environment. We would also like to provide an overview of the school health and safety regulations which we have implemented to protect the health of all students.”

Dr Ibrahim also addressed several queries raised by the school management at the meeting.

Dr Ibrahim highlighted the need for all schools to ensure that every pupil is up-to-date with their vaccinations. He said: “While it is mandatory for all schools to provide vaccination services, parents have an option to either get their children vaccinated at the school clinics or through private/government health clinics.”

He said that irrespective of whether parents choose a school clinic or opt to go with a government or private clinic, the bottom line is to ensure that children are vaccinated so that they are protected from developing certain vaccine-preventable diseases.

He also stressed on the importance of regular inspections, which the DHA will continue to do across all school clinics to ensure they provide the highest level of medical care to students.

Dr Ibrahim also elaborated on the fact that healthcare providers who want to provide health education in schools, will first have to seek the permission from the DHA Health Regulation Department.
He said the aim of this regulation is to ensure that these providers are licensed and to that they provide high quality health education to students.

Amal Ali Almehrezi, head of school health and educational institutions unit, DHA health regulation department said: “ This year, we have introduced a mandatory training program known as ‘paediatric-up-to-date program.' This is an accredited training  initiative in collaboration with senior paediatricians from Latifa Hospital. Doctors and nurses from all private schools in Dubai will undergo this training program that will  provide latest information and practical training on how to deal with school health emergencies. The program will also discuss diagnosis, treatment, referral procedure and follow-up of all diseases, particularly those which occur in a school environment.”

She added: “This annual meet as well as regular training and inspection programs are aimed to provide high quality health services for pupils in Dubai.”

At the end of the event, Dr Ibrahim provided a certificate to doctors and nurses from some schools that have undertaken several initiatives to further improve quality of their school health clinics.