The Dubai Academic Health Corporation held its fourth Board of Directors meeting to discuss its strategic plans, priorities and future goals. The meeting, chaired by His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum in the presence of Vice Chairman His Highness Sheikh Mansoor bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, was held at the Al Jalila Foundation.

Established in July 2021, the Dubai Academic Health Corporation is tasked with improving health outcomes and enhancing accessibility and sustainability of the healthcare sector in Dubai. In doing so, it will provide a significant contribution to Dubai’s mission for a diverse, sustainable, knowledge-based economy that contributes to the growth and performance of the health sector and is supported by education, research and philanthropy.

During the meeting, the Board discussed the Corporation’s strategic priorities and approved four pillars going forward:

- Care: to set the global standard for evidence-based patient care and outcomes

- Learning: to deliver transformative education and a future-ready workforce

- Discovery: to create an ecosystem of innovation and discovery

- Giving and Stewardship: to achieve empathetic efficiency, optimisation of resources and sustainability

The priorities, underpinned by a number of agreed goals and enablers, will help realise the Corporation’s vision of ‘Together We Advance Health for Humanity’ and goals which include, but are not limited to: enhancing the patient experience, creating a talent pipeline aligned with a health workforce plan, investing in a discovery pipeline and enterprise and increasing cost-efficiency by enhancing the value of care.

His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed said that the strategic priorities that have been approved in the meeting will drive the integration of care, learning and discovery, enabling the Corporation to set the global standard for patient care and outcomes. “Dubai has always been associated with being number one, a standard which has been set by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. Healthcare in Dubai is also integral, and we will strive to have it at its best by delivering an exceptional patient experience,” HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed said.

During the meeting, a series of strategic programmes were also approved to drive the changes necessary to fulfill the Corporation’s mission of ‘impacting lives and shaping the future of health through the integration of care, learning and discovery.’ These include reimagining the patient journey across the continuum of care, establishing initiatives to attract, develop and retain healthcare professionals, scientists, and clinical educators as well as enhancing the discovery infrastructure.

“The strategic plan is anchored in a Patient First ethos and a commitment to reimagine the patient journey across the continuum of care. This will serve to improve population health and wellbeing and establish a reputation globally as a destination of care. The creation of an ecosystem of innovation and discovery is fundamental to realising this ambition and effective public and private partnerships will be developed to accelerate the advancement of health,” HH Sheikh Mansoor bin Mohammed said.

Informed by international indicators and driven by the Corporation’s primary value ‘Patients First,’ SMART measures were put into place to monitor progress against the achievement of the strategic goals. The SMART measures include the patient safety index, patient trust, workforce culture and capacity, availability of subspecialty care and endowment value to name a few.

The meeting was attended by His Excellency Awad Seghayer Al Ketbi; Dr. Raja Easa Al Gurg; His Excellency Abdulla Abdul Rahman Al Shaibani; Dr. Amer Sharif; Professor Alawi Alsheikh-Ali; Mohammed Hassan Al Shehhi; Waleed Saeed Al Awadhi and Professor Ian Andrew Greer.