2008
Overall satisfaction with Dubai Healthcare services, states recent survey
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03 November 2008
In a survey published today at the Middle East Health Conference, 73% of all respondents said they were satisfied or very satisfied with the quality of healthcare in Dubai.
The on-line survey was commissioned by PA Consulting Group to examine patients’ views on the quality of healthcare in Dubai and involved nearly 500 people who live or work in Dubai and 400 patients who have visited a hospital or clinic in the past two years.
Majority of respondents satisfied with services in Dubai
73% of all respondents said they were satisfied or very satisfied with the quality of healthcare in Dubai; however amongst Emiratis only 53% of all respondents were satisfied.
Speaking at the conference, PA’s International Healthcare Partner Howard Lyons said:
“It appears that there is a difference between the views of Emiratis and Western expats. Overall, 64% of Western expats thought the private hospitals provided better healthcare than the government compared with only 43% of Emiratis. When it comes to what is the most important requirement for ensuring quality of healthcare, only 56% of Emiratis mentioned highly-skilled medical staff whilst nearly 80% of Western expats made this the number one priority. Emiratis also regard well equipped facilities and an effective regulatory body as key components of high quality healthcare services”
Health insurance will improve access to healthcare services
81% felt health insurance will make healthcare more accessible, and this rose to 90% amongst the over 50s age group. However, the majority of respondents felt they were not sufficiently informed about the new health insurance scheme.
57% of respondents felt that the introduction of health insurance will improve the quality of healthcare.
Lyons said:
“Dubai has ambitions to be a world class city and has already made its mark in the world through its prestige construction projects such as Burj Al Arab, Atlantis, the Burj Tower and the Palm Islands. However, building a world class health system takes much longer and requires commitment and leadership from the very top, right down to the front-line clinical staff giving high quality treatment on a day-to-day basis. You can’t just change the system overnight, you need to change the performance of every individual in the system, whether in the government hospitals or in the private sector.”
PA Consulting Group is one of the world's leading healthcare consulting firms specialising in performance improvement and health sector reform, and was engaged by the Government last year to design the Blueprint for the new health system for Dubai.
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Notes to editors
October 2008 survey
The quality of healthcare in Dubai - as viewed by patients
During October 2008 a survey was commissioned by PA Consulting Group to find out what the people of Dubai think of the quality of healthcare provided in this fast-growing city. Of the nearly 500 people surveyed who either live or work in Dubai, 400 had visited a doctor, clinic or hospital in the past two years.
The findings were as follows:
Majority of respondents satisfied with the quality of healthcare services
• Overall, 73% of respondents said they were satisfied or very satisfied with the overall quality of healthcare they received.
• However, only 53% of Emiratis said they were satisfied whilst Western Expats, other GCC nationals, Asians and other nationalities were all above 70%
• Overall, 53% of respondents said they felt the quality of healthcare is improving but only 43% of Emiratis thought that there had been an improvement.
Welcare and American Hospitals rated as the best providers of care
• 21% of respondents nominated The Welcare Hospital as the provider of the best quality healthcare in Dubai, closely followed by The American Hospital which was rated second, by 19% of respondents.
• Given the choice of government or private healthcare when needing treatment, only 9% of Western Expats would choose a government hospital compared with 24% of Emiratis and 27% other GCC nationals.
• Overall, 55% of all respondents felt that private healthcare was better than government provided healthcare, whilst 21% thought healthcare provided by the government was better than private healthcare
• However, 64% of Western Expats thought private healthcare was better, compared with only 43% of Emiratis.
Health Insurance may lead to improved healthcare services and greater accessibility
• On the proposed introduction of health insurance for all Dubai residents in 2009, 50% said they were not informed sufficiently about this initiative. Only 22% felt they were very well or fully informed and this dropped to 9% for Western Expats.
• Nevertheless, 57% of respondents felt that the introduction of health insurance will improve the overall quality of healthcare facilities in Dubai. However there was a big difference between Emiratis at 62% and Western Expats at 24%.
• Overall, 81% of respondents felt the introduction of health insurance will make healthcare more accessible for everyone and only 6% disagreed.
• Overall, 64% of respondents thought that the introduction of health insurance would make healthcare more affordable, although this figure dropped to 41% amongst Western Expats and rose to 78% amongst GCC nationals.
• Overall, 48% felt that the introduction of health insurance will lead to the opening of more healthcare facilities. Only 5% thought it would lead to closure of some healthcare facilities.
Skilled clinical staff are one of the critical components in providing good healthcare services
• Overall, 56% of respondents said the most important requirement for ensuring quality healthcare in Dubai was highly-skilled medical and nursing staff although this figure rose to 79% for Western Expats.
• Overall, 64% agreed that Dubai can provide good healthcare when required, although the figure was much higher for GCC nationals at 77% and lower for Western Expats at 56%. When responses were analysed by age group, 82% of all nationalities over the age of 50 thought that Dubai could provide good healthcare, however this drops to 61% of 30-40 year old age group.
About PA Consulting Group
At PA Consulting Group, we transform the performance of organisations, providing clients with innovative solutions, a highly responsive approach, and delivery of hard results. We are an independent, employee-owned, global firm of 3,000 talented individuals, operating from offices across the world, in Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia and Oceania. We have deep expertise across key industries and government, and a unique breadth of skills from strategy to IT to HR to applied technology.
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