“Emirates Health” reduces the waiting time for psychological services by 90%

Sami Abdul Raouf (Dubai)

The Emirates Health Services Group announced the results of the program to remove bureaucracy in the field of mental health services, noting that it achieved remarkable results, represented by reducing the number of measures of entry from 10 steps to only three steps, and reducing waiting time. 90%, which is in line with the group’s commitment to providing… More efficient and smoother services that increase customer satisfaction and improve the experience.
The indicators showed the results obtained by the “Union”, the initiatives of the Foundation, and the program for the elimination of bureaucracy in psychological services, which led to a reduction in the admission of registered patients in the day care center and community services with 99%, exceeding the target of 95%.
The results showed that patient adherence to the treatment plan improved by 96%, a significant difference from the target of 70%, and 97% of patients showed a reduction in their psychological symptoms, in addition 97% of clients expressed their satisfaction. with community mental health services.
Emirates Health Services Group held a regular session of its advisory council for patients and their families, at the Al Amal Mental Health Hospital, in the presence of Dr. Yousef Mohammed Al Serkal, Director General of Emirates Health Services Group, and Mohammed bin Taliah, Head of Government Services in the UAE Government, and with the participation of Dr. Nour Al Muhairi, Director of the Department of Mental Health, Dr. Ammar Al-Banna, Director of the Hospital, and several department directors and officials in the institution.
Emirates Health Services Group reviewed the success milestones of the advisory council for patients and their families, which it launched in 2021, with the aim of strengthening the partnership between patients and the institution, which has 15 to hold meetings from time to time since its establishment with the partnership. of representatives from the various emirates of the country, which led to the adoption of 30 effective recommendations to improve the quality … Health services provided, as results showed that 98% of patients see the advice as high – an effective platform for making change.
The Foundation revealed that over 58,000 people have benefited from community mental health services in the past three years, through access to telemedicine services, home care, the halfway house initiative, day care, and an intervention team crisis, as well as the psychological support. line.
Al Amal Mental Health Hospital strives to provide proactive psychological services aimed at improving the quality of life and reducing the burden on patients and their families.
Among these services is the community psychiatry program, which includes home visits, which has helped to reduce the number of visits to the hospital and achieve good results in increasing the rate of satisfaction of patients and their families to 96%.
Dr. Yousef Mohammed Al Sarkal confirmed that the Emirates Health Services Corporation is working to improve the mental health system in line with national trends and the highest international standards, focusing on eliminating bureaucracy and procedures simplified, as Al Amal Hospital for Mental Health. represents a practical model of wise leadership vision in providing integrated health services.
For his part, Mohammed bin Taliah emphasized that the government’s zero bureaucracy is a comprehensive national effort for various sectors and areas of government work, indicating that the government’s zero bureaucracy program reflects a leadership perspective that is based on people in the UAE, and whose main goal is to make life and business easier, by reducing procedures and simplifying requirements.
Meanwhile, Dr. Nour Al Muhairi, Director of the Mental Health Department at the Emirates Health Services Foundation, confirmed that the Advisory Council for Patients and Their Families represents the important link between the Foundation’s vision to provide innovative health services provide and perform them on the ground.
She pointed out that efforts to de-bureaucracy in mental health services are a necessary step to improve patient experience and increase efficiency, and said: “We are working to provide mental health services that are easy and efficient, and that meet the wishes of customers. “

Quality of life
For his part, Dr. Ammar Al-Banna, Director of Al-Amal Hospital for Mental Health, affirmed that the hospital is constantly moving towards achieving the vision of the institution which focuses on therapeutic services and to provide integrated rehabilitation that improves the quality of life of patients and increases support for their families, explaining that the hospital is committed to providing an innovative therapeutic environment that contributes to recovery Psychological, and will support the process of community integration to achieve a sustainable positive impact.
Dr. Ammar pointed out that the hospital is always working to improve the quality of services provided.

Announcing the results of the most prominent initiatives
The Emirates Health Services Group highlighted the results of the implementation of its most prominent initiatives in the field of mental health, referring to the Halfway Villas Initiative, where 3 Villas were implemented at the Al Amal Mental Health Hospital, and used to treat to finish. plan and ensure their gradual integration into society before their full discharge from hospital.
She said that the Foundation provides day care centers at Al Amal Hospital for Mental Health, and works as one-day service centers. The centers provide psychological, social and vocational rehabilitation programs for patients, and provides service to 1,000 customers and implements more than. 4,000 rehabilitation sessions in the period (2020 – 2023).
Regarding the helpline service for psychological support and psychological counseling, “Speak so we hear you,” to all members of society, counseling is provided by trained psychologists, and cases are classified and referral to a psychologist as needed psychological consultations have been provided since its launch in 2020.
In the case of telemedicine services, launched to facilitate access to mental health care through visual and audio communication between the health care provider and the patient, the number of virtual visits reached more than 80,000 visits in the period (2020 – the first half of 2024).
There is an emergency intervention team, where a mobile emergency intervention team was created, which provides psychological support during emergencies in hospitals 24/7 The team provided more than 894 interventions during the period (2020 – 2023 ).
As for home psychological care services, they are available for all cases discharged from the hospital, according to the patient’s need, and for chronic, unstable cases, to ensure that the patient adherence to treatment and reducing the rate of relapse, in addition. to help the families of the patients in caring for the patients and reducing the mental pressures they have. This, in turn, made more than 5,000 visits in the period (2018 – 2023).