Dubai, United Arab Emirates, May 5^th, 2015: Health First Pharmacy, one of UAE’s leading chain of retail pharmacies, has now equipped its staff with services to cater to the blind and deaf. Part of Planet Pharmacies, the former lives by the vision of health first. This retail division, established in 2008 gains the Ministry of Health – Drug Control Department certification to serve hearing and visually impaired customers. Health First Pharmacy is the first chain of pharmacies in the nation to receive such accreditation. As a due process of the certification, Health First Pharmacy hosted a 5 hour CME certification lecture titled, ‘Guidelines to pharmacists for dispensing medicine for deaf and blind patients’. The lecture is part of a training that will aid Health First Pharmacy outlets across the Emirates, to better serve all members of society with utmost and specialized care.

According to a study by World Health Organization, around 285 million of the world population account for visual impairment; out of those 19 million are children under the age of 15 who suffer from blindness. Furthermore, Al Ain-based UAE Deaf Association show that over 1000 deaf people reside in the UAE and only 50% are registered with the association.

Magdy Fahmy, Group General Manager of Planet Pharmaciessaid, “Health First Pharmacy is proud to be gaining the certification of accreditation by the Ministry of Health. Together with the support of Dr. Khawla Al Sharhan, Director of Drug Registration in RAK and Dr. Abdulla al Nuaimi, Director of RAK Medical District, the training for our doctors and pharmacists is being held. The gesture is just one way of showing our care to our community, especially the less privileged who are usually dependent on another. This way they can come to our pharmacies by themselves and feel more independent during their retail experience there. This certification is a reflection of our care and concern for these members in society. Our vision is driven by a set of values that focuses on being professional, customer focused and of paramount quality which reflects in the notion that nothing is too much trouble. The act of the receiving the MOH certification proves nothing less.”

Health First Pharmacy’s, forward thinking policy places the care of special needs patients first and takes into account their medical and personal needs. The certification is a tool to empower these members of the community, giving them a means to take care of themselves by visiting a pharmacy that is well equipped to communicate and understand their needs.

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