HAAD introduces ‘Well Child Visits’ Standard to better monitor children’s health and development

The workshop was attended by healthcare professionals representing hospitals and clinics from the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, including Al Ain, Dalma Island and Bida Zayed. The training supports the Well Child Visits Standard which was made public by HAAD this month that includes guidelines on the monitoring of children’s growth, health, development and support of their vaccination schedule, from the ages of one week to six years old.

H.E Zaid Al Siksek the CEO of Health Authority - Abu Dhabi said: “According to 2011 HAAD statistics, over one fifth of the Abu Dhabi population is under the age of 19 years old; safeguarding the health of Abu Dhabi children is a top priority for us. Research shows that early intervention treatment services can greatly improve a child’s development. Many hospitals have already been implementing best practice in the Well Child Visits they conduct, however this standard seeks to ensure consistent high quality across every facility and ensure access for all children. ”

While a number of hospitals already have Well Child Visits in place, the introduction of a HAAD ‘Standard on Well Child Visits’ is aimed at standardizing measures for normal child growth, consistent with best global practice.

Dr. Omniyat Al Hajri, Director, Public Health & Policy at HAAD Well Child Visits Standards is HAAD’s said that “the latest screening guideline to be introduced across all hospitals in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. During Well Child Visits, parents can find out about their baby's growth, weight gain, health and immunizations, as well as whether the child is meeting normal development goals. The Well Child Visits begin with screening as a new born and continue throughout childhood, and include periodical complete physical examinations/ screenings.

Children’s National and HAAD have consolidated efforts to offer hospital training on three of the most important aspects of Well Child Visits: development screening, autism screening and the management of paediatric asthma.

Dr. Denice Cora-Bramble, MD, MBA, Acting Executive Vice President for Ambulatory Services and Senior Vice President of the Goldberg Center for Community Paediatric Health at Children's National Medical Center said: “Well Child Visits ensure early detection for problems related to a child’s health, well-being and development. New born screenings are becoming increasingly common, but children go through several critical phases of development that require close monitoring. Working with HAAD and local stakeholders, we aim to emphasize that keeping a close watch on a child's health is a necessary ongoing process – from birth onwards.”

“The key to handling most health issues, especially developmental ones, is early detection and careful management. With this partnership, we aim to support HAAD’s efforts in bringing preventative medicine to the forefront of paediatric care in Abu Dhabi.”

For UAE Nationals, the Visits will be covered under Thiqa’s Preventative Care scheme. For Non-Nationals coverage is consistent with their insurance policy as per the ‘Policy Schedule of Benefits’ approved by HAAD. If a patient is not covered by their insurance policy, they will be able to do the Well Child Visits in a SEHA facility under the Government Mandated Funds.

Children’s National has a track record of working in partnership with HAAD to introduce disease screening programs that play a supporting role in improving the quality of childcare in the UAE. Just last month, the two organizations recognized the efforts of 21 hospitals based in Abu Dhabi Emirate for successfully implementing the innovative and non-invasive Critical Congenital Heart Disease (CCHD) screening for new-borns which was introduced in January 2011.

The new screening technology identifies once-undetectable serious heart problems in the first days of a child’s life. Ever since it was implemented, more than 32230 babies have been screened in Abu Dhabi, and 13 cases of new-borns with CCHD were identified and referred for follow up.