Dubai Health Authority discusses geriatric care

Dubai, United Arab Emirates, December 11, 2014: Dubai Health Authority (DHA) discussed the importance of geriatric care during the DHA’s smart clinic that was held during the 1st MENA Geriatric Summit.

The summit was inaugurated by His Excellency Engineer Essa Al Maidoor, Director-General of the Dubai Health Authority. It was organized by the Swiss Business Council in collaboration with the Dubai Health Authority.

The congress discussed the latest advancements in geriatric care. At the smart clinic, doctors discussed the latest geriatric services provided by the DHA and the importance of knowing your functional age to facilitate healthy ageing.

Dr Amal Al Jaziri, head of elderly care unit at the DHA’s primary healthcare sector, said: “The DHA strongly focusses on geriatric care and we are going to further expand our geriatric services to cater to the elderly population. Population growth and increase in life expectancy are important factors that will increase the number of elderly population and thus the focus has to be on healthy ageing.”

Presently, the population above the age of 60 years in Dubai is approximately 11,400. In the 1960s, in UAE, life expectancy was 53 years, today, average life expectancy for the elderly in Dubai is 78 years for females and 75 for males and it is higher compared to some other Middle-Eastern countries. Therefore, the emphasis has to be on healthy ageing.”

She advocated, patients should be aware of the concept of healthy ageing and should undergo regular yearly screenings as well as additional tests such as osteoporosis, bone density etc. so that they can easily treat their ailments with minimum complications. She added this helps them lead a better quality of life and become independent to the best extent possible.

Al Jaziri discussed the various geriatric services available at the DHA and said: “The DHA’s primary healthcare centres have several specialized clinics for the elderly including geriatric clinics, memory and dementia clinic, osteoporosis clinic, rehabilitation and fall clinic to help elderly patients get specialized care.”
She added that the DHA provides home-care services for patients above the age of 60 years, who cannot physically attend the clinic.

The home-care services include a regular visit by a geriatrician. So far 300 patients are registered for the DHA’s home-care programme. 

Al Jaziri, said: “Home-care service for the elderly is an extremely comprehensive program. It includes assessment of the elderly patient’s home environment to ensure the environment is safe to protect patients from falls, geriatricians recommend ways to make the environment more secure, e.g.: adjusting height of beds, recommend installing anti-slip tiles if needed etc. Geriatricians visit the home of these patients every two weeks to three months as needed.”

Al Jaziri said for cases that require rehabilitation therapy, geriatricians refer the patients for home based physiotherapy services. Physiotherapists visit the patients,  assess them and prepare a regular rehabilitation care plan. The aim of the plan is to ensure patients can be as functionally  independent as possible.
In 2012, the rehabilitation team conducted 175 home visits for 27 patients, in 2013, the team conducted 292 visits for 32 patients and in 2014 we conducted 550 visits for 60 patients.

The addition to these services, the DHA also conducts a monthly Alzheimer’s support group and also has a 24/7 Alzheimer’s Helpline (056 3710077) that provides reliable information and support to caregivers, healthcare professionals and the public.