The Dubai Health Authority(DHA) announced that it has issued the standards for physiotherapy services in the Emirate.

The announcement took place during the World Physiotherapy Conference, which recently took place in Dubai.

Dr. Marwan Al Mulla, CEO of the Health Regulation Sector at the DHA said that the issuance of standards for physiotherapy services is in line with DHA’s strategic vision of ensuring continuous improvement in the delivery of health services provided by the sector.

He thanked Emirates Medical Association’s Emirates Physiotherapy Society for their cooperation to help develop comprehensive standards for physiotherapy services in the Emirate.

Dr. Hanan Obaid, Director of the Health Policies and Standards Department at the DHA highlighted that the main objective of issuing these standards is to unify physiotherapy services provided across all health facilities in the Emirate, in line with the latest advances in the field and international best practices.

The standards specify provisions for both health facilities and health professionals and provide details of performance indicators to ensure the provision of patient-centered care.

Dr. Obaid stated that the standards also provide detailed provisions for referring and educating patients, keeping in mind the highest criteria of health and safety in the field.

Dr. Naima Saleh, President of Emirates Physiotherapy Society highlighted the importance of the standards issued by DHA, which is in line with World Physiotherapy’s vision that considers the field of physiotherapy to be an essential part of an integrated health care system that aims to regain and maintain physical health of the population.

Dr Saleh said: “Physiotherapy services contribute to correcting and mitigating the effects of disease and injury. Delay or the absence of seeking these services, results in deterioration of health and negatively affects the quality of life of patients.”

Dr Obaid highlighted that unification of standards for physiotherapy services will help further enhance the health sector in the Emirate and aid in the delivery of specialised high-quality patient-centered care.