Presentation (CTI)

Problem Statement: Problem statement Emergency and critical care services are considered among the main health services in any health system and continue to have high demand in the region. system gaps have been identified by stakholders within patient flow and resource alignment leading to delay in care. Dubai Health Authority identified that despite strong individual hospital performance and patient accessibility, the broader emergency system required integrated governance, standardized triage protocols, tiered facility services, and coordinated hospital pathways — creating preventable treatment delays and uneven patient outcomes across trauma and emergency cases.
Description: Description Dubai Health Authority conducted a multi-stakeholder, mixed-methods assessment over seven months. The project encompassed: (1) on-site assessments of 30 acute care hospitals using standardized assessment criteria based on emergency, stroke and trauma standards aligned with international standards; (2) an EMS system assessment covering dispatch, prehospital protocols, and interfacility transfer operations; (3) international benchmarking against other local and international health systems; (4) patient pathway, referral, and transfer mapping for trauma and emergency cases; (5) development of evidence-based key performance indicators (KPIs). The process included stakeholder engagement and validation through meetings, and workshops. Assessment and data collection were done through site visits, document review, and interviews. Benchmarking revealed that although the local system has strong collaboration and alignment between ambulance services and healthcare providers, there was a need to strengthen the implementation of tiered care, bypass protocols, and centralized registries.
Lessons Learned: Lessons learned Lessons include: (1) strengthening facility-level and regional system-level quality indicators, a tiered designation framework for emergency service providers (adapted from American College of Surgeons guidelines) was recommended (2) adopting clear bypass protocols to reduce secondary transfers — evidence-based bypass protocols were recommended with stakeholder consensus; (3) establishment of unified trauma registries, a real-time bed dashboard, and KPI dashboards; (4) clear emergency policy (5) stakeholder validation workshops were critical for prioritization and buy-in, ensuring recommendations were actionable. The process demonstrated that structured, multi-method evidence generation can bridge the gap between individual hospital practices and system-level performance transformation.
Stakeholder Perspective: Stakeholder perspective This case is presented from the perspective of a government health regulatory authority, Dubai Health Authority is the regulatory licensing entity that also establishes health policies and standards based on local regulations and international best practices. Recommended decisions include: facility tiering system, emergency policy including EMS bypass protocol, regional registry, and KPI and monitoring tools adoption.