ABU DHABI // Doctors and nurses have welcomed moves to unify medical licence procedures so medical professionals can work across the UAE.
Until recently, medical staff could work only in the emirate they have a licence for and needed to start a new assessment procedure if they moved to a health facility in another emirate – a process that could take up to two months.
The Ministry of Health, Dubai Health Authority and Health Authority – Abu Dhabi said it would begin implementing a unified licence on October 12, state news agency Wam announced, after it had been in discussion for at least two years.
“The process will be much faster and easier,” said Dr Layla Al Marzouqi, acting director of DHA Health regulation.
“Now if any medical professional wants to work in another city, he or she has to apply for the licence from the relevant authorities, which will be given without any other examination and assessment tests.”
Deepak Martin, human resources manager for the Arabian Healthcare Group, said: “It is a great development ... medical practitioners will not have to go through unnecessary procedures. That means more doctors and nurses will now want to move to the UAE as they can now apply for jobs in all emirates.”
Mr Martin said doctors from other parts of the world did not just come here to earn more money.
“They also come here for quality of life and the excellent healthcare system. The quality of medical professionals is getting better, with more skilled and competent professionals coming to the UAE. The healthcare system in the UAE is evolving at a rapid pace,” he said.
Dr Salman Hameed, an orthopaedic surgeon from Dubai, however, believes that unnecessary movement of doctors from one city to another could effect medical standards.
“I am personally not in favour of this because patient care will be hampered. Good doctors are available in all cities of the UAE and having doctors from other cities will only lead to competition and confusion,” he said.
Dr Hameed believed it would be better to put more emphasis on rooting out poor practitioners whose degrees and qualifications were dubious.
However, Dr Yamini Dhar, a gynaecologist working in Dubai, backed a unified system, saying it will benefit patients and doctors. She said staff could move around to where there were shortages in the country.
“Unification of medical licences across the UAE is a good change for all the doctors because previously ... it was a hassle and required a lot of paperwork. We had to appear for written exams, then interviews, waiting for results and the actual process was long. It gives you a good feeling that you can move to another emirate whenever you have better opportunities and for job security in UAE.”
Susan Aiken, chief nursing officer at Ras Al Khaimah Hospital, is from the UK and has worked in the country for 30 years. She said the licensing process had always been the main hurdle for nurses because although there is no shortage of qualified nurses wanting to work in the UAE, hiring them from abroad can take up to three months.
“Now nurses will be able to work in different emirates when contracts are completed. It also means part-time workers can work in different emirates,” she said.
Ms Aiken, who has worked in government and private hospitals in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and RAK, said: “Patients have a vast choice of healthcare providers across all emirates.”
newsdesk@thenational.ae
