Health
Hospitals and clinics of Dubai. What to do if got sick in Dubai? Guide to Health and Medical rules and facilities in Dubai.
Health Policy Update: Expats have to get medical test from home countries before coming to UAE
It has been announced that expatriate workers coming to work in the Emirates will have to first get their medical tests done in their home countries.
But to make sure that job-seekers do not try to beat the system and show fake medical test results, the new expatriates will also be re-tested here to see the test results are in order.
As comic as it may sound, the Health Council chaired by Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, has instructed the Ministry of Health to issue the necessary bylaws to implement the new system.
Categories: Health, Living in Dubai Tags: DHA, Health Council
AIDS Alert: HIV cases on the rise in Dubai
A total of 518 people have been detected with contagious diseases during mandatory medical fitness tests conducted during the last two months, according to the Dubai Health Authority (DHA).
The director of DHA’s medical fitness services Maisa’a Al Bustani confirmed that 60 people were infected with HIV .
The total number of HIV cases detected last year was 183.
Several cases of tuberculosis and hepatitis B were also discovered when the DHA conducted tests across 15 medical fitness centres in January and February, Al Bustani told Arabic daily Emarat Al Youm.
Categories: Health, Living in Dubai Tags: DHA, HIV
Child birth costs to double up in UAE
If you are expecting a child and child birth costs are not insured or covered by the employer, you better start thinking about the alternatives.
Why? Because, child birth charges will soon go up 100 per cent at all Ministry of Health affiliated hospitals if you do not have a health card.
The cost of a normal delivery has gone up to Dh 5,000 from Dh 2,500. A caesarean’s cost has doubled to Dh 8000 from Dh 4,000.
Categories: Health, Living in Dubai Tags: Child Birth, Health Card
Dubai to dispose of 5,000 embryos
A fertility clinic in Dubai is to begin next week disposing of about 5,000 human embryos on religious grounds, AFP reports via Khaleej Times.
A 2008 federal law banned the storage of fertilized human eggs due to religion-based concerns over “mixing in the lineage” between families.
Eggs can be fertilized outside the womb during In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF), which produces excess fertilized eggs which can be frozen for future use.
An estimated 5,000 fertilized eggs are stored at the state-owned Dubai Gynaecology and Fertility Centre, the only centre in the Gulf state allowed to perform IVF. Another 5,000 fertilized eggs are believed to be stored at Al-Tawam Hospital in Al-Ain, around 150 kilometres (95 miles) southeast of the Emirati capital of Abu Dhabi.
Categories: Health, Living in Dubai Tags: IVF
Expats Perplexed on Expensive Childbearing in Dubai
As covered earlier, low earning expats struggle to find quality healthcare in Dubai. This extends to women expecting kids or going into labor.
There are reports of expat women who have suffered from low quality treatment pre and post-natal, while saving few bucks.
One such lady, an Egyptian expatriate, opted for a normal delivery at a low-cost facility in Sharjah. She paid Dhs 3,000 for the delivery. However, not only did she have to endure unpleasant behaviour from the hospital attendants while she was in labour, but one of the doctors also messed up her stitches — something that almost cost her life. Shortly after she went home, she went though excruciating pain and one leg started to swell. She went back to the hospital to find out what had gone wrong. But the staff told her to go back and wait for the pain to subside.
Categories: Health, Living in Dubai Tags: Health Card, Healthcare, Medcare Hospital, Zulekha Hospital
Low paid Dubai expats struggling to access healthcare
Dubai is failing to keep pace with neighbouring Abu Dhabi on healthcare reform, leaving its low-wage expatriates struggling to access basic medical treatment, a new report has found.
The gap in the emirates’ healthcare systems is also impacting the businesses of key stakeholders such as insurance and pharmaceutical firms, said analysts at Datamonitor International.
In 2006, Abu Dhabi introduced compulsory health insurance for all residents, a move Dubai planned to copy last year with the roll-out of its own health plan. However the scheme was suspended amid the credit crunch and no new timeline has been established.
Categories: Health, Living in Dubai Tags: Abu Dhabi, Health Card, Healthcare
Dubai Hospital refusing Expat Kidney Dialysis Patients
Expatriate patients in need of kidney dialysis may suffer a stroke if they visit Dubai Hospital as the public hospital that handles most kidney cases has closed its doors to them citing lack of space.
Ghosia Razzaq, a 44-year old, whose kidneys have failed due to high blood pressure and uncontrolled diabetes, was refused treatment at the hospital last Tuesday, said her family. Instead, she was advised to go to Al Qasimi Hospital in Sharjah, run by the Ministry of Health, which provides dialysis to patients free-of-charge.
Categories: Health, Living in Dubai Tags: Dubai Hospital