With complaints rising about crowding and long queues at the Medical Commission premises in Abu Hamour, a senior Medical Commission official has said that the situation would improve soon with opening of two satellite facilities in Abu Hamour and Industrial Area.
The recently opened workers only clinic in Abu Nakhla — near Industrial Area — and a similar facility that is getting ready in Abu Hamour will offer the mandatory medical check up for newly recruited workers, Dr Ibrahim Al Shaar, director of the Medical Commission told this newspaper yesterday.
The old Primary Health Centre in Abu Hamour that remains closed for several years has now been renovated to be used as a workers only clinic.
This facility is expected to be ready in a few months, said the official.
“We are planning to open satellite facilities in these two clinics. We expect a major improvement in the situation in the next six months, with opening of these facilities and extension of working hours at the Medical Commission,” said Al Shaar, when asked about public complaints regarding the crowding in the Medical Commission premises.
“We are still getting huge number of visitors at the Medical Commission daily which is beyond its capacity. Opening satellite centres is the permanent solution to the problem,” he added.
He said a major portion of the visitors currently was newly arriving families, many of whom are on visit to the country.
“We are able to manage the rush from labourers through the pre-appointment system. However, families don’t come under this system,” he added.
The official, however, admitted that it takes about one month for the workers to get an appointment for the tests.
Companies are now using the online registration system through which they can take appointments for their employees in advance.
Several company representatives have been complaining about the delay in getting appointments. Any error in the online registration or a mismatch in the documents could cause further delays.
Three private hospitals recently started conducting the mandatory medical check up for certain categories of professionals such as doctors, engineers and company managers, but this had not helped reduce the pressure on the Medical Commission facilities, said Al Shaar.
“The screening at the private hospitals are going on smoothly despite some problems in the initial stage. But only a few people are utilizing this service, perhaps because it has not got enough publicity,” he added.
Source: hrrp://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com