Doctor caught for selling sick-leave certificates

By PMA RASHEED

The Gulf Today, 23 Aug 2010

SELLING medical leave certificates to several people led a doctor to be blacklisted and his clinic to be closed down by the health authorities.

Three specialist medical practitioners were also suspended from their service temporarily by the Ministry of Health (MoH), for negligence and breaching conditions as per the medical licence, said a senior member of the ministry.

Dr Salem Al Darmaki, Acting Director General of the MoH, issued the decision to take punitive actions against the serious violators of the employment permit.

Dr Amin Hussein Al Amiri, Executive Director for Medical Practices and Licences, said that the illegal activity of issuing false sick certificates had been practised by the general practitioner upon receiving bribes from his customers, who used the documents to escape salary cuts from their companies.

“The errant doctor’s clinic has been shut down, along with cancellation of his work permit and the case has been referred to the public prosecutor after reviewing the investigation report of the MoH’s medical licensing committee,” added the acting chairman of the committee.

“The action against the doctor has been incited after a government department lodged a complaint about the doctor’s deed of issuing numerous false sick leave certificates for nominal fees,” said Dr Amiri.

“The doctor had confessed to allegations of practising the sale of employee sick leave certificates to several employees and workers for several weeks, in contravention with the ethics and manners of medical doctors,” he elaborated.

“In another incident,” Dr Amiri said, “a laser specialist has been temporarily suspended from service for breaching the MoH licence conditions at his clinic. The specialist will not be able to continue his job, until the formal investigation into the case is completed.”

He noted, “A dentist also has been suspended from his practice in a separate case that the MoH’s inspection department indicated that he is always unavailable in the health facility.”

“The last case of punitive action is against a specialist orthodontist. Several complaints have been filed against him for offending the working permit conditions of the health ministry. His activities negatively affected many patients at his clinic,” Dr Amiri pointed out.

According to him, the case has been postponed until the next hearing of the medical licensing committee for the medical specialist.

Ifthar with UAE Prime Minister

His Highness Shaikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, hosted an Ifthar gathering for the UAE media professionals on Aug 14, 2010 in Zabeel Palace.

Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai’s Crown Prince and Shaikh Maktoum Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, ministers and top officials were also present on the occasion.
The UAE media fraternity, along with international news agency heads, conveyed their greetings to Shaikh Mohammad on the occasion of the Holy Month of Ramadan.
Sheikh Mohammed discussed several political, media, economic and regional issues with the journalists. Focusing on the freedom of expression and constructive criticism, the Vice-President called media the mirror and voice of the UAE.
“No restriction has been imposed on news in the UAE,” he assured the media professionals.

Sheikh Mohammed affirmed that the concerned authorities in the UAE do not impose any restrictions on information or news about economic and financial issues.

"My directives to these authorities are clear and beyond any questioning as we rely on candour and transparency. We strongly believe that media is the mirror of the nation. It has a noble message to disseminate and to enlighten the public, away from exaggeration, bias and distortion of facts. The sun cannot be blocked by a sieve," he added.

The media corps paid tribute to Sheikh Mohammed for his support, considering his encouragement and follow-ups as a big catalyst to them to exert more creative efforts
to enhance the local and regional media scene.

The journalists also praised the numerous initiatives by Sheikh Mohammed to provide a wider space for freedom and transparency in dealing with the local, regional and international media.

UAE amends residency medical laws

According to the new MoH ruling, blood-borne diseases like Hepatitis B and tuberculosis will no longer be deportable offences.

By PMA RASHEED

The Gulf Today, 20 Aug 2010

Flashing rays of hope for thousands of job seekers, the UAE authorities have announced a set of significant amendments in the federal rule on medical fitness tests required for issuing residence visas to expatriates.

According to the new ruling, blood-borne diseases like Hepatitis B and tuberculosis will no longer be deportable offences, as the resident expatriates don’t have to undergo tests for them while renewing their residence visas.

However, a specific date for implementing the new federal decision has not yet been confirmed by the Ministry of Health (MoH), sources of which said the ruling would come into effect from the next day of it being published in the official gazette.

While addressing the media in Dubai on Thursday, the UAE Minister of Health Dr Hanif Hassan said that the mandatory test for Hepatitis-B detection has been limited for only six categories of workers, while they apply for new residence visas, or renewal of their existing permits.

“The workers will not be deported from the country, if the tests confirm they are disease positive. Instead, the health authorities will give them treatment,” he added.

“The working groups include nannies, housemaids, barbers or beauticians and health club technicians, foodstuff handlers, eatery employees, and nursery or kindergarten supervisors,” elaborated Dr Mahmoud Fikri, CEO of Health Policies at the MoH.

“New residence or labour permits or renewals shall not be granted to the positive cases in these categories,” he added.

“However, vaccination for the Hepatitis-B is must for those who are tested negative among these categories, who should take three doses of preventive vaccines,” noted Dr Fikri.

“They will be issued a vaccination certificate, which has to be produced at the time of the visa renewal to exempt them from further vaccinations. In the events of being unable to show the certificate, the vaccination will be repeated charging an additional fee of Dhs500,” he pointed out.

According to him, the mandatory test for Hepatitis-C has been cancelled, as the liver disease usually transmits through infected blood.

“Mandatory tests for tuberculosis and leprosy have also been limited to the active or old pulmonary (chest) tuberculosis, for which the new arrivals only have to undergo the examination. At the time of renewal, the residency visa is not permitted to leprosy positive cases,” pointed out Dr Fikri.

“The check-up for syphilis also will be carried out only on the above mentioned six categories, while they apply for new visas or residency renewal. Treatment must be provided to all positive cases before obtaining the health certificate,” he added.

“For AIDS,” the official said, “Tests are compulsory for all, both while applying for the first time residency and at the time of renewal.”

“All maids, nannies and female drivers must have to undergo pregnancy tests before issuing the certificate of diseases that pose threat to the public health,” said Dr Fikri.

“In case of positive pregnancy, the sponsor has to decide whether to retain the services of the candidate or not. If the sponsor refuses the candidate, a written consent has to be submitted to the authorities with the test result,” he explained.

Dr Hanif Hassan said that the modifications have been made in five provisions of the Cabinet Decision No.7/2008 on the medical checkup procedures to obtain labour and residence permits for the expatriates.

“However,” the health minister assured that “no additional fees or increase will be imposed as per the latest procedures on various medical check-ups. Articles two, three, four, five and 10 of the rule have been replaced.”

(Photo used for illustrative purpose only)

Healthcare for low-pay group

By PMA RASHEED

The Gulf Today, 19 Aug 2010

A recent study by the Dubai Health Authority disclosed that 75 per cent of the low-income expatriates in Dubai lacked coverage of health insurance.

Almost three-quarters of Asian and Arab expats living in the emirate suffer due to the non-coverage of health insurance schemes, revealed the Dubai Household Health Survey.

A panel of healthcare industry leaders based in Dubai discusses the shocking observation of the survey that many expatriates do not seek treatment on time and neglect their conditions due to the higher healthcare costs.

They criticised the negative attitude of many establishments on provision of health coverage to employees and their families, even though the health insurance schemes are much cheaper than in the US or Europe.

“The economic reality of the employees should be considered by the employer and the government,” the experts opined.

A huge disparity is obvious between the low and high-income groups in enjoying the benefits of quality and transparent healthcare services in Dubai.

“The question of unaffordability of healthcare by people in the lower socio-economic strata has to be answered by refining the general assumption on healthcare provision to different brackets of the people,” said Dr Azad Moopen, chairman of DM Healthcare in Dubai.

“The discrimination is, basically, not because of the unavailability of the healthcare. It turned out like this due to the ignorance of corporate groups or companies on the wellness of their workers,” he pointed out.

The emirate of Abu Dhabi has a mandatory health insurance programme for all companies’ employees and their families.

Dr Nawab Shafi ul Mulk, chief of Global Hawk Telemedicine Services in Dubai, pointed out that Dubai has yet to enforce the laws that make it compulsory for all workers to have a health cover.

“The emirate had planned to introduce universal health coverage in January 2009, requiring every employer to pay a set fee to the government for each employee,” he said.

“This money would have been used to provide employees with ‘free access to basic health care.’ However, this scheme has yet to be introduced.”

Thumbay Moideen, founder president of Gulf Medical University and Hospital, the first private teaching hospital in the UAE, said that the healthcare sector required a massive change in the outlook of planning to cater to the needs of the low-income groups.

“All the hospitals and clinics should subsidise the prices to cater to the masses. The healthcare service providers play a major role in alleviating the worries faced by the low-income group,” he added.

Dr KP Hussain, Managing Director and CEO of Fathima Healthcare Group, pointed out that most of the corporate groups in Dubai provide medical insurance to only employees in the managerial level.

“Less-paid staff members are not given any support by the employers, while budgeting plans of corporate firms allot annual insurance premium of Dhs2,000 to Dhs3,000 per staff in the managerial level,” he said.

Dr Moopen pointed out that it’s the responsibility of the employer to cover decent basic healthcare, except luxury treatments like cosmetic procedures.

“Each employer already has to invest around Dhs10,000 on each employee’s visa costs. Adding an additional Dhs1,000 on their insurance coverage is not a big deal at all,” he noted.

According to him, a statutory requirement should be enforced on employers on providing workers with the health insurance coverage.

Dr Mulk suggested introduction of models for social health insurance coverage programmes, funded by both the government and the employers. “Such programmes can ensure privileges of all sorts of basic health treatments to the people from the low-income bracket and their dependants,” he added.

“The laws should come into effect as soon as possible as it will facilitate the suffering people as the medical costs are higher,” he said.

Dr Hussain elaborated, “Ten years before, many insurance companies were providing medical services to corporate establishments with high premium for their white collar employees. And blue collar workers were neglected due to the high cost of premium which the establishments had to pay. Hence, the lower and middle income group could not get medical coverage.”

“Many people of lower income earners were suffering from chronic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes and cardiac disorders. For treating the diseases they needed a minimum Dhs400 to 500 per month,” added the medical insurance expert.

“This scenario gave birth to the concept of providing cost-effective and comprehensive medical services for the lower and middle income groups, so they could avail the services throughout the year by paying a small premium to the insurance companies,” he noted.

11,000 food samples go under Municipality scanner in H1

By PMA RASHEED

The Gulf Today, 19 Aug 2010

THE food and environment laboratory in Dubai has carried out analysis on 10,989 samples of food items during the first half of the current year, according to the statistics revealed by sources at Dubai Municipality (DM).

The specialist lab under the department of the Dubai Central Laboratory (DCL) had collected these number of food samples to confirm their suitability for human consumption.

According to the half-yearly report of the lab, about 7,391 food samples have been received for quality control and food safety, while 333 food samples were taken for review and study purposes.

“At least 1,292 food samples were received from private sector, while it’s 1,152 samples from the civic departments. The lab also collected 821 environmental samples from the private sector,” said the report.

It disclosed that the lab also conducted 77,373 chemical, radiological and microbiological tests on food and environmental samples during the six-month period of 2010. Among them, 64,156 were tests on food samples and 13,217 were tests on environmental samples.

“At least 123 samples also have been analysed at the lab for environmental monitoring purpose, while 600 tests were conducted on wastewater from industrial waste as well as sea water samples,” it elaborated.

A spokesperson of the Municipality said that a series of research and development studies have been carried out by the food and environment lab section aimed at increasing the efficiency of the labs and meeting the requirements of the beneficiaries.

“So far, 13 developmental studies have been conducted in regard to chemical analysis, while three other researches have been completed in the field of environment,” he added.

According to him, the food and environment lab will examine the proportion of alcohol in samples of chocolate in coordination with the Emirates Authority for Standardisation (EAS).

“The section has also activated its e-services and the customers have been trained to use the new system,” noted the official.

The DCL has been the European Commission’s reference lab in the UAE to examine samples of camel milk imported into the European countries in coordination with the UAE Ministry of Environment and Water (MoEW).

(Photo used for illustrative purpose)

Masafi Hospital set to launch 2nd phase

By PMA RASHEED

The Gulf Today, 18 Aug 2010

THE recently opened Masafi Hospital will soon launch its second phase of functioning by introducing more services for in-patients and adding various departments to the hospital, a senior health official said. The hospital currently has operations for out-patients only.

Dr Mohammed Abdulla Saeed, director of Fujairah Medical District, said that the number of outpatients who visited the hospital since its opening in July has reached 546. “The hospital has received 482 patients in the general section, 20 people sought treatment at orthopaedics department and 44 patients visited the hospital’s ENT section,” he added. “The second phase of enhancing services at the hospital includes emergency unit, internal medicine, ophthalmology, gynaecology, surgery, paediatrics and physical therapy section,” Dr Saeed pointed out.

“A number of specialist doctors, including a general practitioner, ENT specialist, gynaecologist, dentist, paediatrician, internal medicine specialist and three orthopaedic specialists along with 15 nurses, and 10 x-ray and laboratory technicians have also been appointed at the hospital,” he elaborated.

Close eye on shisha cafes; 600 inspected in Dubai

By PMA RASHEED

The Gulf Today, 18 Aug 2010

Around 600 Shisha cafes across Dubai have been visited by the public health and safety officials of Dubai Municipality (DM) before the arrival of the Holy Month of Ramadan.

The inspections were carried out as part of the civic body's strategies to check the validity of such establishments' licenses and to ensure that they comply with the civic regulations on public health safety and hygiene requirements, a senior DM official said.

Redha Salman, Director of Public Health and Safety at the DM, indicated that the hygiene conditions in Shisha cafes especially the preparation area, sufficiency of ventilation and air conditioning, health cards of workers, and their uniforms, were on the agenda of the inspection campaign.

"The cafes should be operated only on ground floors, except in hotels. No Shisha cafes will be permitted to operate in classified residential areas. The shops should be set up in a minimum area of 1,500 square feet." he pointed out.

"Shisha cafes should also be 25 metres away from the entrances of buildings. At least 200 metre distance should be maintained from mosques, schools and other educational institutions," elaborated Salman.

According to him, the shisha shops should be licensed by the Department of Economic Development (DED) in addition to the permit from the public health department.

He said, "The cafe doors should be closed always, except for entry and exit of customers. Safety requirements including measures for prevention of inflammable materials like fire extinguishers should be installed at the shops. Emergency exit also should be provided to use in the events of causalities."

As per the regulations, the cafes should set up interior arrangements such as proper ventilation system that will help the public avoid exposure to passive smoking. Food serving and preparation areas should be also separated from the smoking area.

"The shop owners should also fix a message board at the entrance of the cafŽ, warning people under the age of 20 years not to use the facilities," noted Salman.

He urged owners of Shisha establishments to adhere to the rules and regulations in order to protect public health, thereby avoiding any legal proceedings to be initiated by the Municipality against the violators.

Two years ago, the DM had issued final orders to the owners of all Shisha centres operating in Dubai to relocate their premises to non-residential areas, promoting a smoke-free environment for the residents at restaurants and cafes.

Owners of coffee shops and restaurants were also subjected to stop the service of providing Shisha-smoking facility at their shops.

"The violating shisha outlets can be fined in the range of Dh5,000 to Dh40,000 as per the level of violations," said the Municipality.

(Photo used for illustrative purpose)