Expatriate workers wait outside the Medical Commission building in the Industrial Area. PICTURE: Najeer

By Salman Siddiqui/Staff Reporter



Qatar is expected to open its biggest health centre for its labour workforce on November 1, 2014 near New Al Thumama area in Doha, a senior official has said.
Dr Dauod Abdel al-Mutty al-Bast, Chief Executive Officer for QRC Health Centres, said in an interview that authorities in Qatar wanted to provide the best possible medical treatment and facilities to all workers in the country.
“There is good news. By the first of November this year, we will open the biggest health centre for labourers in Qatar right here near New Al Thumama area.
“Hopefully, this will reduce the number of patients at our Workers Health Centre in the Industrial Area and will also lessen the complaints of workers there,” he said.
The WHC is the only medical facility for workers in the Industrial Area, which at the moment  usually overflows with patients. Around 1,000 patients are treated there daily.
Moreover, the Qatar Red Crescent (QRC) is working with the Supreme Council of Health (SCH) to expand its existing medical facilities, the doctor added.
As the number of Qatar’s workforce increases, facilities such as the Workers Health Centre run by QRC in the Industrial Area are being overwhelmed.
It is estimated that more than a million labourers are already employed at the mega projects in the country and thousands more are expected to arrive in the country in the coming years as Qatar prepares to host the FIFA 2022 World Cup.
QRC was assigned by the Supreme Council of Health to manage and operate a number of health centres, including the WHC in the Industrial Area, Abu Nakhlah, Expatriates’ Medical Centre in Freej Abdul Aziz and Expatriates’ Medical Centre in Al Ma’mourah, besides the Medical Commission units in Abu Hamour and the one next to the Workers Health Centre in the Industrial Area.




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