ith the dominant thinking in Western countries leaning towards a dismantling or scaling down of nationalised health services, it is refreshing and reassuring to find that the United Arab Emirates has maintained - and is maintaining - its commitment to 'good health for all.'

It was in 1971, the year of the country's independence that the Ministry of Health was established. Its mission? To provide healthcare for everyone living in the country, be they citizens, residents or non-residents. That aim still stands strong and tall today and it is something that those who work within the profession still feel proud of.

"In terms of primary healthcare, hospital care and preventative medicine, the UAE provides health for all," says Dr Ahmed Al Hashaim, the Director for the Dubai Area at the Ministry of Health. "The Ministry works very closely with the Department of Health in Dubai to provide the best possible service."

As part of the maintenance of standards, the UAE's new residents are required to take part in a medical examination to ensure that they are not the carriers of a communicable disease which could be harmful to others. This helps to ensure the health of the workforce and the population at large.

Between the two government departments, there are six hospitals in the city - the Dubai Hospital, Al Wasl Hospital, Al Maktoum Hospital, and Al Rashid Hospital are the responsibility of the local department, and the Kuwait Hospital and the Psychiatric Hospital come under the auspices of the federal government.

All emergency treatment at the hospitals is free, so that if a person is involved in a road accident, for example, an ambulance will take them to hospital with no charge.

"That is each person's right," explains Hashaim. "You are a human being and no one in the UAE is going to check that you have the money to pay for their services, before they save your life. That is not the way it works here."

Any additional treatment provided while a patient is in a critical condition is free of charge, but during the rehabilitation process, there may be medical fees to be paid.

In addition to the government hospitals in Dubai, there are around ten primary healthcare units, a dental health centre and a preventative medicine centre.

Preventative medicine has become an increasingly important branch of healthcare in recent years in many part of the world, with the old adage 'prevention is better than cure' coming to be realised in monetary as well as health terms.

If people can be persuaded not to smoke cigarettes by a health campaign, that campaign will undoubtedly pay dividends in terms of the beds and expertise saved in lung cancer wards 10, 20, 30 or more years later in the lives of both the health service and the patient.

In the case of smoking, Dubai and the UAE join with a world wide network of health organisations dedicated to encouraging people not to smoke for international no-smoking days. Other public awareness campaigns look towards a more local or grassroots base.

"We use Mother and Child Healthcare groups to teach women about the signs of breast cancer or uterine cancer, for example," explains Hashaim. "Leaflets are distributed to women explaining how to check for the disease and what to do if they think they have found the signs."

The Ministry of Health is also involved in advertising campaigns in the newspapers, on posters and on television to make people more aware of what is good for their health - and what should be avoided.

A visit to the dentist is perhaps the one form of preventative medicine most often avoided. Its provision to is mostly free to those living in the Emirates in the same way as medicine. If complicated work, like bridges, crowns or caps needs to be performed, the treatment remains free of charge, but the patient is asked to pay for the materials used.

When it comes to medical research, it often makes sense for knowledge to be pooled across the Emirates. The blood disease sickle cell anaemia is being investigated by health professionals in both Dubai and Abu Dhabi, for example.

Many of the people living in Dubai choose to have private healthcare. Either by paying a monthly insurance fee themselves or their company paying the fee, (often as part of an expatriate benefits package) they are entitled to private treatment if and when the need arises. Specific medical agreements vary widely, but an insurance package could encompass anything from visits to a general practitioner, prescription payments and dental work, right through to intensive long term hospital care - and everything in between.

Of course, patients can choose to cut out the insurance part of the equation and just pay for private care when it is needed.

All of the private hospitals in Dubai - and across the country - are regulated by the government to make sure they are of a suitable standard. The Ministry of Health inspects the premises and the procedures of the staff on a regular basis.

"We very much encourage the private sector in the provision of health," says Hashaim. "It is providing an important and high quality of service for many people here, but of course we still have to make sure that the private practitioners are up to our standards."

"The private sector also provides the health sector in Dubai - and of course the UAE - with centres of speciality care, or subspecialty care."

These hospitals or clinics can become 'centres of excellence' in the treatment of particular complaints. As such they also attract prestigious top practitioners in the field to work here, meaning the residents have the expertise close at hand.

Since the Ministry of Health was first established in the UAE, the country and so the need for healthcare have changed beyond all recognition. The doctors, the number of beds in hospitals, the speciality centres and the equipment needed to treat patients efficiently and with the best care possible have meant a great deal of investment and innovation.

Of course, that does not stop now. Who knows what will happen in the next twenty-five years of the UAE's history? Who knows what future challenges will need to be met by those providing health care to the generations to come? But they can be sure of one thing - the foundations they are to build upon are sound.