NHRA submits 2017 annual report

Manama : The National Health Regulatory Authority (NHRA) submitted the 2017 annual report to President of the Supreme Council of Health Dr Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Khalifa yesterday. The report, a summary of all the projects, statistics and achievements of the Authority, was submitted by its Chief Executive Officer Dr Mariam Al-Jalahma.

On the occasion, the President of the Council praised the good work done by the NHRA, which reflected the overall performance of the health sector in the Kingdom, receiving unlimited support from the wise leadership and the government.

He said the achievements made by the Authority is in line with the Kingdom’s preparations for implementing the national health insurance programme based on enhancing the efficiency and quality of health services for all citizens and residents in the Kingdom. 

“We have achieved 84 per cent of our strategic plan in 2017 alone. This achievement would not have been possible without the support of the Supreme Council of Health and the efforts of all our dedicated staff,” said NHRA CEO Dr Mariam Al Jalahma.

“We issued policies and guidelines to our clients regarding procedures and regulations, licensing of health facilities, the licensing of professionals and medicines, guidelines for health advertisement, continuing professional development policies, accreditation, patient complaints, and inspection policy for Healthcare facilities,” she said.

“In 2017, the number of licensed health facilities were 671, including 194 medical centres, 21 hospitals and 171 clinics, of which 58pc are located in the capital Governorate,” the NHRA report said.

“In 2017, investment in the opening of medical centres and pharmacies was increased. Initial approval was granted to 110 new institutions, including 20 dental centres, 15 general medical centres and 14 alternative medicine centres. The number of new pharmacies licensed last year 51 pharmacies and thus the number of pharmacies registered with the Authority 218 pharmacies,” the report said.

“The number of registered professionals in the Authority was 28,466 in 2017, including 6536 doctors, 14395 nurses, 4,550 assistants, 1,887 pharmacists and 1,098 dentists,” the report said.

“In pursuance of the decision of the Supreme Council of Health to link the renewal of licenses to health professions, the authority approved 3,711 continuing development training programs, including conferences, workshops, scientific forums and lectures. In the area of approval of clinical trials, the Authority has adopted 11 clinical trials in the private and public sectors,” the report said.

“As for medicines and pharmaceuticals, the number of medicines registered with the Authority amounted to 3,760 medicines, 729 medicines and 311 alternative medicine products. The authority reviewed 8,178 medical devices of which were approved 6,861 of them with a value of about 25 million Bahraini dinars,” the report said.

“The Authority has conducted a comprehensive evaluation of all the facilities that provide the service to match the requirements that have been issued and as a result, 14 private health facilities have been authorized to provide services. The Authority played a leading role in this national project in coordination and cooperation with the Ministry of Health And the Labor Market Regulatory Authority, “ the report said.

“In 2017 Our greatest achievement was the implementation of the National Health Accreditation Program, which includes a comprehensive assessment of all services provided by health facility ranging from governance and medical care to patient and building safety, infection control, quality and other criteria. In 2017, 10 health facilities were accredited, including 11 hospitals and 6 medical centres. 6 of which were awarded the diamond level, achieving more than 95% of the required standards and 3 were awarded the platinum level achieving of more than 90pc of the standards and 4pc were awarded the golden level achieving more than 85pc of the required standards,” the report said.

“As for complaints and medical errors, the Authority received 237 cases last year, of which 136 were direct complaints from patients and 47 were incidents reported from health facilities. 52 cases were referred by the prosecution and the courts, 57pc against the private sector and 42pc against the government sector. 66pc of doctors and 14pc against health institutions,” the report said adding that the Authority completed the investigation of 118 cases of which medical error was proved in only 44 of them.

“The authority implemented 66 disciplinary actions on professionals, 47 of whom were on doctors and 15 of them on nurses. The disciplinary proceedings included 34 suspension, 21 warnings, and 10 license cancellation. One fine was issued for one facility. In 2017, the government agreed to increase the budget and human resources requested by the Authority to enable it to increase its performance and fill vacancies in the Authority by 98pc,” the report said.

“The Authority has also signed a cooperation agreement with the Supreme Council for the Environment on the disposal of medical waste within the framework of cooperation between government bodies and the organization of responsibilities and standardization of procedures. Under this agreement, the NHRA will inspect private health facilities in aspects of medical waste disposal and ensure compliance with the mechanism and procedure established by the Supreme Council for the Environment. The NHRA will also submit inspection reports on the extent to which these facilities are committed to the mechanisms and procedures required and to coordinate the necessary procedures to be taken by both authorities in this regard,” the report said.