A hospital recruitment squeeze is forcing hospitals to poach staff from rivals amid rising demand for thousands of additional doctors.
As more hospitals and specialist clinics open across the country, greater numbers of operators are having to source from the local market instead of hiring from abroad.
Hospital operators attending a recent investment summit in Dubai complained about the rising cost of recruiting doctors and healthcare staff, and called for a reform of the regulatory framework to address the problem.
The number of physicians in the UAE is 1.5 per 1,000 people, fewer than in Qatar, Oman and Kuwait, according to a report released last week by the property consultancy Colliers International.
The ratio for nurses is 2.7 to 1,000 people, again fewer than in Qatar, Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain. The comparable figures in developed countries are, for example, about 3.7 doctors per 1,000 people in Germany – the highest level among European and North American countries – and 13.4 nurses per 1,000 people in Holland.
Abu Dhabi needs an additional 3,100 doctors by 2020, according to the Health Authority-Abu Dhabi.
“The challenge is some hospitals open up and take physicians from the local market, where doctors remain a very scarce resource, because they have an existing local patient base,” said Binay Shetty, chief operating officer of NMC Healthcare.
“Here they [hospitals] had recruited from abroad historically but because of the pace of growth is so quick now, hospitals tend to recruit from the local market and this leads to short term inflation of salaries.”
He was speaking at the Healthcare Investment Conference in Dubai last week.
NMC Healthcare, which employs 440 doctors, expects to increase that number over the next five years as it opens 100-bed Brightpoint Maternity Hospital in Abu Dhabi and a 60-bed general hospital in Dubai Investment Park in first half of 2014, as well as a medical centre in Al Ain in the latter part of 2014 and a 250-bed Khalifa City Hospital first half of 2015.
About 98 per cent of NMC’s doctors are recruited from 18 countries. Mr Shetty said the UAE had historically hired doctors from the Indian subcontinent and the Arabian Gulf, but Europe was becoming a new sourcing market. .
Healthcare operators also blamed the long licensing process for the slow pace of recruitment.
Sobhi Batterjee, Saudi German Hospitals Group’s president and chief executive, said the hiring process took three to eight months, “so you snatch from the next door”.
“So allow organisations to bring in qualified doctors and staff from abroad and give them temporary licenses,” he said.
“Otherwise the cost of health care will rise here and people will travel abroad for health care.”
The Saudi German Hospital, which opened in 2011, has 60 doctors; about 20 per cent of them were recruited from within the UAE.
Mr Batterjee noted that medical consultations cost Dh700 in Dubai and 200 riyals (Dh195) in Saudi Arabia. The average cost of giving birth in a hospital in Dubai is Dh20,000, whereas it is just 5,000 riyals in Saudi Arabia, according to Mr Batterjee.
Ravi Dhir, the chief executive of the investment firm Healthcare Mena, said regulations were the biggest challenge.
“If I open a hospital, I paid for investment for 18 months before a patient comes in,” he said.
The average salary of a specialist doctor in the UAE is Dh75,000 to Dh80,000 a month, and for general physicians it can be around Dh40,000 a month, according to operators at the conference.
The salaries of doctors in the UAE have risen by 5 to 10 per cent, and that of nurses by 3 to 5 per cent over the past couple of years, they said.
Mr Dhir’s group employs 200 doctors in its medical centres and a hospital in Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Dubai. Fifteen to 20 per cent of them were recruited within the UAE.
Healthcare Mena has 13 medical centres in the UAE and a hospital – the National Hospital, which it acquired from NMC Healthcare in 2011 – in Abu Dhabi. It will acquire six primary care centres in Saudi Arabia and four in Qatar by the first quarter of next year, and that would increase the number of staff to 1,000.
Mitul Modi, the healthcare division director of the executive search firm Carmichael Fisher, said the lack of academic facilities and the misperception of the security situation in this part of the Middle East were hampering recruitment of foreign healthcare professionals.
“Here there is ample funding, but that doesn’t mean paying people will get you the best people,” Mr Modi said.
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At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
How has net migration to UK changed?
The figure was broadly flat immediately before the Covid-19 pandemic, standing at 216,000 in the year to June 2018 and 224,000 in the year to June 2019.
It then dropped to an estimated 111,000 in the year to June 2020 when restrictions introduced during the pandemic limited travel and movement.
The total rose to 254,000 in the year to June 2021, followed by steep jumps to 634,000 in the year to June 2022 and 906,000 in the year to June 2023.
The latest available figure of 728,000 for the 12 months to June 2024 suggests levels are starting to decrease.
UK's plans to cut net migration
Under the UK government’s proposals, migrants will have to spend 10 years in the UK before being able to apply for citizenship.
Skilled worker visas will require a university degree, and there will be tighter restrictions on recruitment for jobs with skills shortages.
But what are described as "high-contributing" individuals such as doctors and nurses could be fast-tracked through the system.
Language requirements will be increased for all immigration routes to ensure a higher level of English.
Rules will also be laid out for adult dependants, meaning they will have to demonstrate a basic understanding of the language.
The plans also call for stricter tests for colleges and universities offering places to foreign students and a reduction in the time graduates can remain in the UK after their studies from two years to 18 months.
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MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FINAL RECKONING
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Starring: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg
Rating: 4/5
More on Quran memorisation:
Expert input
If you had all the money in the world, what’s the one sneaker you would buy or create?
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“If I had all the money, I would approach Nike and ask them to do my own Air Force 1, that’s one of my dreams.” Yaseen Benchouche
“There’s nothing out there yet that I’d pay an insane amount for, but I’d love to create my own shoe with Tinker Hatfield and Jordan.” Joshua Cox
“I think I’d buy a defunct footwear brand; I’d like the challenge of reinterpreting a brand’s history and changing options.” Kris Balerite
“I’d stir up a creative collaboration with designers Martin Margiela of the mixed patchwork sneakers, and Yohji Yamamoto.” Hussain Moloobhoy
“If I had all the money in the world, I’d live somewhere where I’d never have to wear shoes again.” Raj Malhotra
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Four reasons global stock markets are falling right now
There are many factors worrying investors right now and triggering a rush out of stock markets. Here are four of the biggest:
1. Rising US interest rates
The US Federal Reserve has increased interest rates three times this year in a bid to prevent its buoyant economy from overheating. They now stand at between 2 and 2.25 per cent and markets are pencilling in three more rises next year.
Kim Catechis, manager of the Legg Mason Martin Currie Global Emerging Markets Fund, says US inflation is rising and the Fed will continue to raise rates in 2019. “With inflationary pressures growing, an increasing number of corporates are guiding profitability expectations downwards for 2018 and 2019, citing the negative impact of rising costs.”
At the same time as rates are rising, central bankers in the US and Europe have been ending quantitative easing, bringing the era of cheap money to an end.
2. Stronger dollar
High US rates have driven up the value of the dollar and bond yields, and this is putting pressure on emerging market countries that took advantage of low interest rates to run up trillions in dollar-denominated debt. They have also suffered capital outflows as international investors have switched to the US, driving markets lower. Omar Negyal, portfolio manager of the JP Morgan Global Emerging Markets Income Trust, says this looks like a buying opportunity. “Despite short-term volatility we remain positive about long-term prospects and profitability for emerging markets.”
3. Global trade war
Ritu Vohora, investment director at fund manager M&G, says markets fear that US President Donald Trump’s spat with China will escalate into a full-blown global trade war, with both sides suffering. “The US economy is robust enough to absorb higher input costs now, but this may not be the case as tariffs escalate. However, with a host of factors hitting investor sentiment, this is becoming a stock picker’s market.”
4. Eurozone uncertainty
Europe faces two challenges right now in the shape of Brexit and the new populist government in eurozone member Italy.
Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG, which has offices in Dubai, says the stand-off between between Rome and Brussels threatens to become much more serious. "As with Brexit, neither side appears willing to step back from the edge, threatening more trouble down the line.”
The European economy may also be slowing, Mr Beauchamp warns. “A four-year low in eurozone manufacturing confidence highlights the fact that producers see a bumpy road ahead, with US-EU trade talks remaining a major question-mark for exporters.”
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
