ADCMC launches ‘Abu Dhabi Standard for Healthcare Business Continuity' to enhance emergency medical service operations
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates: The Emergencies, Crises and Disasters Management Centre - Abu Dhabi (ADCMC), in collaboration with the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi (DoH), officially launched the 'Abu Dhabi Standard for Healthcare Business Continuity' during the Annual Business Continuity and Alternative National Service Forum – Murona, held at Erth Hotel, Abu Dhabi.
The initiative is a key progress of Abu Dhabi's ongoing efforts to position itself as a global leader in the implementation of business continuity practices. It lays down a comprehensive and detailed framework aimed at strengthening the business continuity management system for healthcare services across the Emirate. The benchmark will also help Supporting healthcare sector resilience by minimising the impact of disruptions, and safeguarding patient safety while facilitating seamless and uninterrupted service delivery. Furthermore, it ensures the availability of essential healthcare services at all times, as well as full compliance with regulatory and legislative requirements.
The standard is tailored to ensure the continuity of healthcare and emergency medical service operations across the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, fostering an integrated, patient-centric care system. It primarily focuses on driving timely and uninterrupted response to critical emergencies through the seamless coordination of resources and expertise. In addition, it aims to minimise service disruptions stemming from emergencies, crises, and disasters. This is essential to enhance the safety and well-being of patients, visitors, and healthcare professionals, while strengthening service continuity across the Emirate, right from pre-hospital services to diagnostics, and treatment.
His Excellency Matar Saeed Al Nuaimi, Director General of ADCMC, reaffirmed the Centre's unwavering commitment to advancing the emergency, crisis, and disaster management system, as well as elevating the resilience and sustainability of the Emirate's healthcare sector. His Excellency emphasised the need to establish comprehensive, integrated standards that ensure both essential service continuity and patient safety under all circumstances. H.E. Al Nuaimi also stated that the initiative aligns with the Centre's strategic vision to enhance Abu Dhabi's preparedness for emergencies and crises, further solidifying its position as a global leader in this critical domain.
His Excellency further stated: 'The health and well-being of the population remain a top priority for the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, aligning with the government's aim to provide an exceptional quality of life for all residents and ensure the continuity of essential healthcare services. Achieving this exemplary vision necessitates strict compliance with the regulatory and legislative frameworks, as well as the effective implementation of key requirements by all stakeholders within the healthcare sector. In such a scenario, it is also essential to proactively identify and manage strategic risks at the Emirate level, by understanding their potential impact on healthcare, reinforcing both social and economic stability.'
His Excellency also eemphasised the newly introduced standard's critical role in enhancing the healthcare sector's capacity, and establishing a flexible business continuity management system to ensure the sustainability of healthcare services, even during emergencies. H.E. Al Nuaimi remarked that such a system empowers healthcare providers to effectively adapt to evolving challenges and respond swiftly to a wide range of crisis situations.
H.E.Dr. Noura Khamis Al Ghaithi, Undersecretary of DoH said: 'Abu Dhabi has made remarkable strides in strengthening the readiness of its healthcare ecosystem, ensuring the sustainability and continuity of its services in times of crisis. Collaboration, joint efforts, and integration between all stakeholders have played a vital role in achieving the Emirate's milestones in that regard. Today, Abu Dhabi proudly ranks among the world's most innovative and resilient healthcare systems in emergency preparedness and response. This achievement is no coincidence, but a direct result of our wise leadership's steadfast support and guidance in prioritising the community's health and safety above all. Through coordinated efforts to drive innovation, harness the latest technologies, and continuously advance infrastructure and regulatory frameworks, Abu Dhabi continues to set a distinguished global example.'
H.E. added: 'We are proud of the collaboration between the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi, the Abu Dhabi Public Health Centre, and the Abu Dhabi Emergency, Crisis and Disaster Management Centre in launching the Abu Dhabi Business Continuity Standard for Heathcare. This initiative is designed to further strengthen the readiness of healthcare facilities across the Emirate, ensuring the uninterrupted delivery of care services, enhancing integration among key stakeholders, unifying response frameworks, and bolstering operational resilience to enable faster recovery from crisis, all without compromising the quality of healthcare services.'
The Abu Dhabi Standard for Business Continuity in Healthcare Activities applies to all healthcare providers, based on the applicability of requirements to their specific operational environments and service providers. It also encompasses additional requirements for pre-hospital and critical care, as well as hospitals in general. The focus is primarily on the time taken to deliver relevant healthcare services, and the hospital's ability to respond to emergencies, crises, and disasters that may disrupt social systems.
It also addresses critical incidents and emerging risks impacting the health of community members. In such instances, coordinated efforts are required to ensure that healthcare providers can respond effectively and mitigate adverse health outcomes in their facilities and across communities.
Furthermore, the capability of the healthcare sector is determined by several factors such as the development of hospitals that empower healthcare professionals to deliver medical care focused on emergency and critical care, efficiently manage emergency calls and coordinate ambulance deployment. It is also dependent on the efficiency of emergency patient transportation service providers, multidisciplinary response teams that provide clinical interventions at the incident site, as well as medical hotlines that offer remote diagnosis and instructions to facilitate certain treatments.
Non-emergency patient transport services for hospital transfers and discharges, along with a range of other resources, including personnel, skills, equipment, technology, materials, and information, also play a critical role in emergency and crisis situations. This also includes effective governance, which lays down the acceptable boundaries for healthcare conduct and practices.
The Department of Health – Abu Dhabi recently inaugurated the Unified Medical Operations Command Centre (UMOC), the first of its kind globally. Operated by the Abu Dhabi Public Health Centre, in collaboration with a number of public and private sector healthcare entities, the Centre is designed to strengthen cooperation and coordination among all stakeholders. It serves as a central hub for emergency management, marking a major addition to the Emirate's healthcare sector and playing a vital role in safeguarding public health, enhancing emergency preparedness, and strengthening response capabilities
ADCMC remains steadfast in its efforts to reinforce the Emirate's adaptability and preparedness to tackle future challenges through a range of forward-looking studies, research, and plans aimed at enhancing crisis response capabilities. These include joint drills and exercises with various public and private sector entities, as well as collaboration with partners to promote cooperation and knowledge exchange in the field of emergency and disaster management. ADCMC is also committed to developing infrastructure to ensure rapid and effective response to emergencies, crises, and disasters.
About ADCMC:
The Emergencies, Crises and Disasters Management Centre Abu Dhabi (ADCMC), established under Law No. 22 of 2019, issued by the late Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, aims to significantly boost the Emirate's preparedness for emergencies, crises and disasters.
The Centre has devised plans, strategies and policies for disaster, emergency and crises management. It carries out studies, field trips, audits and evaluations to ensure that organisations are prepared to face challenges and recover immediately. The Centre further focusses on improving coordination and knowledge exchange with relevant authorities and stakeholders. The key objective is to improve Abu Dhabi's capabilities to effectively handle crises and emergencies.
Vision:
Reinforcing crisis readiness.
Mission:
We Strive to develop Abu Dhabi's emergencies and crises management ecosystem through joint coordination to build and develop capabilities and leveraging leading technologies.
Strategic Priorities:
Ensured readiness of Emirate of Abu Dhabi in emergencies and crises
Strong stakeholders' coordination and raising awareness
Elevated ADCMC internal capabilities
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Khaleej Times
an hour ago
- Khaleej Times
From PCOS to chronic pain, can emotional healing transform women's health?
The womb, in ancient cultures has been revered as a sacred centre of creation. It is in a mother's womb that the seeds of entire humanity are first planted. But for the woman herself, the womb is more than a reproductive organ, it is also her emotional centre, balancing her hormones, nurturing her identity and fuelling her power. So, listen to the messages of your womb, says Sarmistha Mitra, Dubai-based psychologist and wellness expert. Womb healing, she reveals, can have a deep transformative effect on a woman's health. In her recently released book Whispers of the Womb, she offers a holistic approach to address the mind-body connection behind gynaecological conditions such as PCOS, endometriosis, fibroids, menstrual pain and infertility. The book was born out of her lived-in experience as a woman and a therapist. For years Mitra had watched her aunt live through the silent pain of infertility and her cousin endure years of exhausting IVF cycles, leaving her body emotionally and physically depleted. 'Even the first client who walked through my door was a woman navigating the emotional roller coaster of IVF. During the therapy sessions, we began uncovering her deeply buried beliefs, her feelings of not being enough, generational shame, ancestral grief that even she was unaware of holding on to for years,' says Mitra, who is also the founder of The Wellbeing Sanctuary, Dubai, a holistic health centre. As the client healed, something incredible happened — she conceived naturally soon after. 'That moment stirred something in me. I realised our wombs are not just physical organs, they are emotional archives. The womb is where life begins and also where unhealed pain hides. It carries the emotional residue of generations, stories we have inherited, shame we have absorbed and parts of ourselves we have forgotten,' she adds. Womb healing, is a process of reclaiming this sacred space from pain, trauma and suppression. Combining years of research based on personal and professional experience, Mitra chose to write, Whispers of the Womb, to explore the sacred feminine, ancestral healing and subconscious reprogramming to help women reclaim their feminine power. Through her writing she urges women to embrace their inner wisdom, sensuality and creativity to restore their physical and mental wellbeing through acceptance and practical everyday healing rituals. Generational trauma, a lesser explored factor, is an integral part of Mitra's book. She writes that just as physical traits are passed down from one generation to the other so are emotional experiences and societal conditioning. 'Ancestral trauma especially around gender roles, sexuality and oppression are inherited not just through stories but also through biology. Science calls it epigenetics. Our grandmother's grief, our mother's shame, their unspoken sacrifices live in our bodies, especially in our wombs,' points out Mitra. Through her work as a psychologist she has encountered a rising number of women struggling with womb-related disorders including fibroids, PCOS, endometriosis and early menopause. The more she listened to their stories, the more she realised that they were not just medical conditions but messages. 'I asked myself 'what if that what we are so desperate to fix, is actually trying to protect us.' That idea blew my mind and I began to see that these disorders were not random. The body, in its wisdom, was shielding us from perceived threats encoded over generations through angst, suppression and disconnection from our true nature. Imbalance, pain and disorders, are not flaws, they are reminders and signals.' The modern woman is often suppressing her feminine energy. While navigating her way through a highly competitive world, she often overcompensates by taking on masculine traits. Mitra calls it the masculine overdrive. She describes how many women are constantly pushing, proving, achieving and performing. 'The truth is that women today are exhausted because they are stuck in a constant tug of war between who they were programmed to be and who the world expects them to become. They were told to be caregivers, be selfless, quiet, accommodating, but today they are also called to be leaders, decision makers, breadwinners while still being expected to maintain emotional grace, beauty and balance.' The internal conflict between their outdated subconscious roles and the modern external demands, is not just stressful but it also dysregulates the nervous system showing up as anxiety, hormonal imbalance, burnout, thyroid issues, fertility struggles and emotional fatigue. 'A woman does not need to choose between her ambition and softness. She just needs to feel safe enough to be who she is.' Turning inwards through stillness and reflection, feeling instead of clamping down on emotions, and beginning a conscious dialogue with the womb are some of the ways, the author suggests that women can heal themselves. She retells the instance of one of her clients who was diagnosed with PCOS and was struggling with irregular menstrual cycles. During the counselling sessions, Mitra was able to help her client unburden her beliefs around self-worth and release her suppressed emotions. 'Over time her menstrual cycle was naturally regulated and her hormone levels became balanced,' shares Mitra. 'What changed was not her body but her relationship with herself.' Readers will discover several daily rituals in the book that can be practised including womb breathing, pelvic bowl journaling, warm castor oil compress, dancing or hip circles and mirror work. The author's own journey of healing and transformation began over a decade ago. As a stay-at-home mum, Mitra's world collapsed when her only son went abroad for college education. Her empty nest triggered a deep emotional upheaval. Eventually, she healed her pain by training to be a wellness practitioner, learning transpersonal psychology, clinical hypnotherapy and several other therapeutic modalities. A firm advocate of building one's mental muscles, she has designed the DecodeYou therapy, a KHDA accredited course, to help people recalibrate their subconscious mind. 'As a stay-at-home-mum, I was outwardly fulfilled but inwardly unravelled,' she adds. 'My healing was not just about learning psychology, it was about rewiring the nervous system. In doing so I was able to become the woman, my younger self needed. The woman who finally birthed the truth and now teaches others to do the same because when we heal our womb physically, emotionally and spiritually it not just bears life, it also gives your life back to you.'
Khaleej Times
2 hours ago
- Khaleej Times
Virtual companions, chatbot-therapists: Is AI replacing human connections?
I was listening to the radio on my way to work when a well-known RJ on one of the channels here in the UAE mentioned how she couldn't sleep the previous night, so she chatted with ChatGPT until she finally drifted off. The point of mentioning this isn't to debate insomnia remedies (as the show did), but to highlight something deeper — our growing emotional and cognitive reliance on digital solutions. While social media platforms offer 'free' services quietly shaping our behaviours, the market constantly convinces us we need the latest smartphone, algorithms trap us in filter bubbles, feeding us only what aligns with our existing views. And now, artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots and virtual companions are being designed to fulfill human desires, companionship, validation, and even therapy. Yet as a society, we are experiencing a disconnect like never before. The question is no longer just whether technology is replacing human connection, but how much of our emotional lives we are willing to outsource. As loneliness surges, so do our efforts to fight it. It's instinct. With digital platforms around us so much of the time, we naturally turn to it. A 46-year-old woman living in a family-friendly neighbourhood shared her struggle with loneliness on social media. People had plenty of solutions, including making an AI friend. A growing number of AI-powered virtual companions are now available online, offering round-the-clock support without fear of judgment. These digital assistants have become a valuable resource for individuals hesitant to share their emotions and concerns with others due to social anxiety or fear of criticism. These services aren't just for early adopters anymore, they are going mainstream fast. Among them, Replika has gained significant attention and popularity. Marketed as 'the AI Companion who cares, always here to listen and talk, always on your side', the app's reassuring message has resonated with users. Several reputable news outlets have featured the program as well. Social media apps promote connectivity, but studies show that regular users frequently experience loneliness, indicating that the sense of connection may be superficial. The benefits of AI characters come with significant risks, particularly for adolescents. Emotional dependency on AI can erode real-world social interactions and coping skills, potentially isolating users from familial and communal networks. AI remembers every detail of the conversation and gives the illusion of being a sincere friend, says Dr Jihene Mrabet, a psychologist with academic expertise in AI. She elaborates that these mental health applications are capable of diagnosing psychological issues and even providing coaching advice. 'However, the concern is always about to what extent one can rely on these chatbots, since we don't know who is behind the technology, what their understanding of human psychology is, or how confidentiality is maintained in such interactions. We do not even know if the designers have proper guardrails,' Dr Jihene explains. A Florida mother, Megan Garcia, is holding AI accountable for her 14-year-old son's death. In a lawsuit against the company, Garcia alleges deeply personal AI exchanges contributed to her son's suicide. She's demanding accountability to shield other families from similar devastation. As we increasingly turn to AI for companionship, we must ask: Are we creating a world where technology replaces human connection. And if so, at what cost? Developers, policymakers, and mental health experts must collaborate to enforce ethical safeguards, especially for vulnerable users.
Khaleej Times
4 hours ago
- Khaleej Times
UAE: Travelling for Hajj? New smart medical bag launched for pilgrims
A smart medical bag, that marks a new advancement in portable healthcare for Hajj pilgrims, has been introduced with the launch of 'Masand'. This innovative unit is tailored to assist healthcare teams in fast-paced, mobile environments where prompt diagnosis and treatment are essential. This bag has been developed by health-tech company Doctory in collaboration with the Sharjah Open Innovation Lab (SoiLAB). The innovative medical bag integrates advanced diagnostic tools into a single portable unit, allowing for rapid and effective health assessments during the pilgrimage. Developed through close cooperation between Doctory's healthcare experts and SoiLAB's engineering team, 'Masand' harnesses technologies including 3D printing, additive manufacturing, laser cutting, and precision electronics. The launch reinforces the Sharjah Research, Technology and Innovation Park's (SRTI Park) reputation as a regional hub for next-generation medical devices, born from dynamic partnerships between government, academia, and industry. Hussain Al Mahmoudi, CEO of SRTI Park, said, 'Doctory's innovative products, designed within SoiLAB, are a model of health innovation. This project reflects our commitment to empowering creative and innovative companies to turn their ideas into tangible solutions that improve lives. The Hajj season provides a unique opportunity to test these solutions in real-world conditions, showcasing SRTI Park's ability to turn research and innovation into practical outcomes.' He added, 'We are dedicated to enabling innovators by providing world-class research and development facilities, advanced industrial expertise, and supportive investment networks. Our goal is to create an environment where pioneering ideas in health technology can thrive, transforming how medical solutions are developed and implemented.' How does it work? The 'Masand' medical bag can directly connect patients with a network of specialised doctors, enabling remote diagnosis and treatment — even in areas with limited access to healthcare facilities. The bag has attracted significant attention from medical authorities and regulatory bodies during the current Hajj season, where it has proven effective in managing emergency health cases at the holy sites. Osama Shamsi Pasha, Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Doctory, said, "The 'Masand' medical bag represents a significant leap in mobile healthcare, made possible by the advanced innovation environment and world-class team at SoiLAB. We have had previous successful collaborations with SoiLAB, such as developing the 'Doctory Chair,' which reinforces our confidence that SRTI Park is the ideal environment for testing ambitious ideas and turning them into practical products."
