Dubai, UAE – 31 January 2013: Under the patronage of Chairperson of Dubai Healthcare City Authority (DHCA), HRH Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein, wife of HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, the Leaders in Healthcare Conference, a key segment of the 38th Arab Health Exhibition and Congress, officially opened today, with a focus on the theme ‘Addressing the Future’ by improving clinical outcomes to tackle the increase of non-communicable diseases in the Arab region.

Attendees at the conference included HE Abdul Rahman Mohamed Al Oweis, Minister of Culture, Youth and Community Development and Acting Minister of Health, HE Essa Al Maidoor, Director General of the Dubai Health Authority, Dr. Ala Alwan, Regional Director for the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region.

HRH Princess Haya, who gave the keynote speech at the Leaders in Healthcare conference, highlighted the importance of successful partnerships to achieve world class sustainable healthcare systems as well as the need to create an environment with high moral standards, a fertile setting for research and development and a platform for learning to entice the best brains in the business to settle in the region.

“Our very young healthcare system must reduce its dependency on existing international models. We need to adapt these models to suit our local needs,” stated HRH Princess Haya. “What is most relevant is the fact that we imported top management from different institutions without bringing or training the indigenous middle and lower tiers of management necessary for implementing many of these complex systems.”

“Our desire remains to offer the best care to our people, to train and retain the top doctors while providing the optimum habitat for the medical community to evolve. However, we must adopt a new approach and up our game; often easy to plan, much more difficult to execute,” continued HRH Princess Haya. “Our healthcare systems need to respond first and foremost to our population needs, based on clear evidence, and should ensure universal health coverage for everyone. We need to take the principles into account in order to build our national capacity and plan and provide healthcare services based on our population needs. We need to develop long-term and trusted partnerships with partners that understand that they will share both the risks and benefits of any joint venture.”

In addition to speaking at Leaders in Healthcare, HRH Princess Haya also toured the Arab Health exhibition stands, including those belonging to the UAE Ministry of Health, SEHA, Dubai Healthcare City, Dubai Health Authority and various others. Accompanying Her on the tour were HE Abdul Rahman Mohamed Al Oweis, HE Essa Al Maidoor, and other dignitaries.

Governments in the UAE, and across the Middle East, are becoming more aware of the demand for high quality clinical, nursing care, and customer service, with private care emerging as a solution in many countries in the region. The Leaders in Healthcare Conference, that concluded today at the Arab Health Congress in Dubai, UAE, discussed whether hospitals can be operated as business models; the impact of this, if any, on the quality of medical services; and if management be headed by a non-medical professional.

The issue of affordable healthcare was also discussed. In line with maintaining strong leadership in healthcare institutions, it is also essential to practice preventative strategies in order to ensure a healthier future by carrying out campaigns and measures that will assist the government and individuals with medical and financial effort.

Also speaking at the conference, Dr. James Stoller, Chairman of the Education Institute at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio said: “Great leadership is needed in healthcare universally because of the challenges we all face in delivering optimal care to all people, challenges of assuring quality, providing access and making healthcare affordable for all. Because leadership competencies are not part of the usual curriculum in training physicians and scientists, a commitment to leadership development in healthcare is critically important, perhaps especially in important forums like Arab Health.”

The Leaders in Healthcare conference is organised by Informa Life Sciences Exhibitions and is the flagship conference for Arab Health 2013, which concluded today, 31st January, at the Dubai International Convention & Exhibition Centre.

There has been a strong trend in the Middle East where consumers seeking treatment in healthcare institutions are looking for increased safety and quality of medical treatment, focusing specifically at the credentials and training of the physicians.