UAE | Health

Health clinics overwhelmed by influx of new workers

Israr Ahmad arrived in Dubai from Pakistan last December, prepared for hard work. What he was not prepared for was the toughest job of all: getting a medical report on his health status.

  • By Mahmood Saberi, Staff Reporter
  • Published: 23:41 February 5, 2008
  • Gulf News

  • New recruits queue at Al Baraha Hospital in Deira for a medical examination. The health check, which tests for HIV, Hepatitis B and tuberculosis, is required by the government before issuing a residence visa.
  • Image Credit: Karl Jeffs/Gulf News

Dubai: Israr Ahmad arrived in Dubai from Pakistan last December, prepared for hard work. What he was not prepared for was the toughest job of all: getting a medical report on his health status.

His company sent him to Al Baraha Hospital on Tuesday to get tested for HIV and Hepatitis B, the government requirements before issuing a residence visa and work permit.

"I arrived here at 9am and when I finally reached the counter at around 1pm, the man stamped my papers and asked me to come tomorrow," he said, bewildered. He was among 11 newcomers in his company trying to get a medical report. "My friend has come to this place three times in the past 10 days," Ahmad said.

The queues start building up at this hospital's preventive medicine section from 8am, the opening time, said a security staffer. He said more than 1,000 people come daily for the blood test and between 900 to 950 workers for the X-ray.

Abdo, from Lebanon, said he and a South African paid Dh50 extra to get the report faster but were still waiting at 1pm. "We came here at 10 am," he said. The regular fee is Dh550.

Al Baraha hospital management said they were not allowed to comment.

As Dubai grows and expands, thousands of workers are hired every month to help build the roads and buildings and thousands of others to man the service sector. According to the Labour Ministry's figures 3,000 work permits were issued last month alone.

But as the number of workers has grown rapidly, the three medical centres for private sector companies in Dubai - Al Maktoum Hospital, Dubai Municipality Clinic and Al Baraha - are unable to cope with the rush.

There are a number of private clinics, but they are not allowed to do the tests for staff of private sector companies.

At around 1pm, many construction workers were still waiting outside, hoping that their turn will come. Al Baraha hospital runs a second shift from 5 to 7.30pm.

Dubai Municipality has tried to cut down the rush through its e-clinic system where medical fitness certificates and health cards are issued online. "It reduces costs and is a huge time-saving," said one officer, but he did not comment on how the clinic is coping with the crowds.

Services: Expansion planned

Dr Ahmad Al Hashimi, assistant undersecretary for the Dubai Medical District, said demand was outstripping supply.

"Our staff are hardworking, but the number of people coming here has increased. We have two shifts working at the preventive department at Al Baraha Hospital, but too many people are coming here - sometimes 1,800, sometimes 2,000," he said.

The department, which can process about 1,200 cases a day, also has to deal with referrals from municipality clinics. Dr Al Hashimi said the ministry was in the process of expanding services and adding staff to deal with the demand, promising they would be in place "in a short time".

- Nina Muslim, Staff Reporter


Your comments


I dont know if it is a must for construction workers to get tested at Baraha Hospital but I have did my medical at BioSytech Lab in Sanyo building next to Burjuman, last week. You get the results the same day.
Muhammed Faisal
Dubai,UAE
Posted: February 06, 2008, 12:24

Govt. should give approval to the private sector for medical fitness the certificate. Because hundreds employees queque all day only to be told to come back tomorrow with employees deducting money from their saslary for the absenteeism. This is very cruel.
Rahmathulla
Dubai,UAE
Posted: February 06, 2008, 11:33

Private clinics and Hospitals should be accredited and be allowed to do the required tests to issue health certificate. This move will definitely arase the hassle of getting health certificate. My experience when I went to Maktoum Hospital for the tests last 2006 was that I paid an extra AED100.00 just to speed up the process.
mike
Dubai,UAE
Posted: February 06, 2008, 08:26

Health clinics overwhelmed by influx of new workers is a norm in any busy place where the booming economy has to come in line with the globe. We cannot cut back on the fiscal working of the declining dollar that plagues many entrepreneurs and the hub of the UAE economy. We have the one without the other or we are doomed. Let me elaborate.
Firozali A Mulla MBA PhD
Dubai,UAE
Posted: February 06, 2008, 07:37

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