Today's Edition
SARA ALZAABI (ABU DHABI)
Abu Dhabi has introduced new standards to make sure healthcare services continue without disruption during emergencies. These guidelines are part of a larger effort to improve emergency preparedness and ensure essential services stay available. The next step in this plan will be to create similar business continuity guides for the energy and water sectors.
The Emergencies, Crises and Disasters Management Centre - Abu Dhabi (ADCMC) is in the process of streamlining alternative national services that can ensure operations' continuity when crucial public services are impacted by disruptions.
The initiative reinforces integrated governance, early response and resource alignment consistent with Abu Dhabi's vision to be a world leading centre of business continuity.
Speaking to Aletihad, Shaikha Khamis AlAzizi, Director of Business Continuity and Alternative Services Department at the ADCMC, said they will be developing 14 standards for business continuity, each tailored to a vital sector in Abu Dhabi.
The first one was for the healthcare sector. "We will then move on to the next: energy and water, including sustainable water. That work will be done in collaboration with the Department of Energy," she said.
"What we need in Abu Dhabi are sector-specific standards for each critical job. By creating detailed, localised guidelines, we can ensure better performance, more accurate evaluations, and stronger overall resilience," AlAzizi said.
Guide for Contingencies
For the healthcare sector, the goal was to establish a standard that clearly defined what continuity meant for each critical health activity, she explained.
"This will improve response capabilities, evaluation precision, and overall preparedness in the sector. We're working closely with the Department of Health (DOH) to make this happen," AlAzizi said.
Prioritising patient safety and compliance with regulation, the guide covers all healthcare providers from pre-hospital care through diagnosis and treatment and critical care.
Once ADCMC starts working with energy and water sectors, it will be partnering with the Department of Energy and its affiliated companies, AlAzizi said.
"For other sectors, we will work with the relevant authorities-like the Department of Community Development for social services, or the media and communications regulators for those sectors."
