How to complain about a medical error in Abu Dhabi

Where do you file a medical error complaint in Abu Dhabi?

Online, with the Department of Health Abu Dhabi (DoH), through its service “Request for submitting a medical error complaint”. It covers care from any licensed healthcare facility or professional in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.¹

You register an account, which can be through UAE PASS, submit the form with your documents, receive an email confirming it was submitted, and later receive the committee report through the DoH complaint system.¹ The complainant guide gives the filing address as bpmweb.doh.gov.ae.² Its contacts are 800555 and cri@doh.gov.ae, the Clinical Reviews and Patients Advocacy section.²

Start the service from the DoH page.

Who can file a complaint?

The patient, if over 18. A representative can file with a legal document showing their authority. Parents or legal guardians file for patients under 18.²

You may file without giving your details, but then you are not allowed to receive the outcome.² DoH says the legal documents, such as a death certificate or power of attorney, must be attached when filing for a husband, wife, parent or child, “in order to accept the complaint request and disclose the investigation outcome”.²

If you file for someone else, get the legal document before you start.

What documents do you need?

DoH lists five.¹

The form can be filled in Arabic or English, but the details of the complaint must be in Arabic.²

The government portal TAMM lists the same service with different documents: an Authorisation Certificate from UAE Courts and a passport.³ Ask DoH on 800555 which list applies to you.

How much does it cost and how long do you have?

Filing costs AED 0.¹ You must file “within three years from the date of the occurrence of the medical error or its discovery.”² DoH says the investigation “might take months”, depending on the complaint and the investigation needed.¹

Work out your date with the deadline calculator.

What happens after you file?

A member of the investigation team contacts you for more information. DoH sends a copy of your complaint to the facility, collects your medical files and reviews them. It may refer the case to a specialised expert and may question the healthcare professional. The case then goes to the Medical Liability Committee for review and decision.²

DoH accepts complaints about medical negligence, treatment errors and complications, medication errors and delay of treatment, among others. A clinical examination is arranged only where the investigation needs it and the committee decides so.² You can follow the status in the DoH complaint system, and you receive an email when the report is released.²

Keep your phone and email active, and check the complaint system for the report.

Can you withdraw your complaint?

Yes, free and with no documents, through the DoH withdrawal service.⁴ The withdrawal page says you cannot withdraw once the case has been referred to the committee.⁴ The complainant guide says you can withdraw as long as the committee has made no decision.²

If you want to withdraw, do it before the case is referred, and ask the investigation team to confirm in writing.

How do you appeal the committee’s report?

Submit a detailed appeal within 30 days of receiving the report. It goes to the Higher Medical Liability Committee at the Ministry of Health and Prevention (MOHAP).⁵ The fee is AED 5,000, and MOHAP sends a payment link by SMS to the phone number in your appeal.⁵ DoH says there is no set time for the review.⁵

The doctor has the same right to appeal. If nobody appeals within 30 days, the local committee’s decision is final. If there is an appeal, the Higher Committee’s decision is final.²

Mark the 30th day in your calendar the day the report arrives. The appeal page covers the process.

Will DoH award you compensation?

No. DoH says “you might approach the judicial authorities for financial compensation.”² Federal law says a court will not accept a compensation claim for medical liability until the case has been referred to a medical liability committee.⁶

Read how compensation works before the committee report arrives.

Should you complain to the facility first?

DoH advises filing an official complaint with the facility’s management first, and calling 800555 if it is not answered.⁷ Under the DoH Patient Experience Standard, effective April 2026, a facility must give each complaint a unique reference number, acknowledge a service complaint within 24 hours, and tell you the actions taken and the resolution within 3 working days. Clinical complaints must be directed to the Abu Dhabi Government Contact Centre on 800 555.⁸

Get the facility’s reference number in writing and add it to your DoH complaint.

The small print

The 24-hour and 3-working-day times in the Patient Experience Standard apply to service complaints, in section 3.4.2.⁸ The 30-day grievance period and the rule that an unchallenged report is final are in Article 20, and the committee referral rule for compensation claims is in Article 18, of Federal Decree-Law No. 4 of 2016.⁶

DoH accepts a complaint from a patient over 18. MOHAP’s own complaint service for private facilities in the northern emirates requires an adult “above the legal age (21 years)”.^2,9