The Medical Commission is planning to step up co-ordination with the Communicable Diseases Clinic of the Hamad General Hospital (HGH) for early detection of tuberculosis, hepatitis and Aids among the newly-recruited expatriate workforce.
Dr Ibrahim al-Shaar, director of the Medical Commission, told Arrayah Arabic daily that such co-operation would help in controlling the spread of these diseases.
He said suspected cases will be referred to HGH for further checkup. “In minor cases, the person is treated here and he remains in the country. But in a severe situation, the person will be deported.”
He said screening in the country of origin has considerably helped in reducing the number of expatriate workforce suffering from such diseases coming into Qatar.
Dr al-said the Commission was constantly striving to improve its quality and service. There is also a contract to comprehensively develop the department of radiology, besides the development of its laboratories and introduction of the most sophisticated equipment.
Indian nationals return home after delay in firm launch
About 70 Indian nationals, purportedly brought to Qatar to take up employment with a new taxi franchise in the country, have returned home.
Most of them were expected to join the company as drivers but there was some “delay” in commencement of its operations, it is learnt.As a result, their visas were not stamped by the employer even though they were housed in the company’s accommodation at the eastern end of the Industrial Area.
Sources said the group’s members were also given a token maintenance allowance by their employers, which was “deductible” from their salaries once operations started.
Speaking on the issue, a senior Indian embassy official said the workers were recruited by an agency in the southern Indian state of Kerala for the taxi company’s operations and brought here on visit visas.
The recruits were enrolled for driving lessons and most of them secured licences and were waiting to join the new firm. “However the ‘delay’ in the start of the company’s operations seemingly frustrated the drivers and they decided to return home, more than two months after arriving in the country,” the embassy official said.
Their return was made possible only after embassy officials contacted the agency that recruited them. About 17 people from the group had sought the embassy’s intervention, he added.
Sources in the community said some of those in the group had worked in Gulf states earlier and were familiar with the local immigration rules. This could be the reason they chose to return without waiting to get their visas stamped, the sources added.
“They may arrive on job visas to join other employers as many of them secured driving licences during their two-month stint in the country,” said an expatriate, who had some contacts among members of the group.
Stranded workers ‘yet to approach embassies’
The Nepalese embassy in Doha has said no member of the group of nearly 26 expatriates from Nepal, who reportedly are “stranded” in the country for more than five months without employment, has approached the mission so far.
A senior diplomat at the mission said though they contacted some members of the group more than twice over phone in the last few days and told them to come to the embassy for initiating further action, none of them were willing to meet the officials. “I do not know why they are refusing to come to the embassy to formally lodge a complaint against their employers,” said the official, hoping that they would approach the embassy “sooner than later”.
“We need to find out if they have any attested job contracts or offer letters issued by their employer before taking any further step.”
A Nepal newspaper had reported that 26 Nepalese and some Indian workers were “stranded” in the country for about five months, after the manager of their company “disappeared” sometime ago without paying their salaries.The workers, who are presently staying in their company’s accommodation, are being provided food by a group in the expatriate community.
Meanwhile, an Indian embassy official said he had learnt that some of the country’s nationals were also among the “stranded”. “The embassy has been told that there are a few Indians as well, but until now no one has lodged any complaint with the mission,” he added.
The embassy cannot take any action without receiving a formal complaint from the aggrieved workers, the official added.
Future Interiors Qatar 2014 conference to be held from September 8
The Future Interiors Qatar 2014 conference will be held at Sharq Village and Spa on September 8 and 9.
The conference will discuss innovation in Qatar’s architecture, design and interior construction industry.
Future Interiors is a new addition to Qatar’s calendar and is organised by Advanced Conferences & Meetings in partnership with IFP Qatar.
The delegates will include interior designers, design architects, consultants, project owners, developers and contractors involved in ongoing projects in Qatar and the Middle East.
Day one of the conference will cover two areas. The first one, architecture and design, will address processes and principles, efficient installations and technologies, sustainable solutions for high-performance buildings and how passive design impacts the internal use of a building’s design. The second area will cover sustainability and materials sourcing.
Salah Nezar, sustainability director at QPM, will lead a session titled “Improved Indoor Environment Quality and built-environment’s asset strength” on the first day.
Day two will start with sessions about workplace evolution, increasing energy efficiency and returns on investment. The conference will then cover smart building techniques and project management.
According to the organisers, Qatar has significant potential in sports facility development, real estate and infrastructure upgrades. The local construction industry is valued at $32bn with an estimated value of over $10bn in projects expected to be awarded in 2014. The GCC interiors market was valued between $1.36bn and $1.47bn in 2013, growing by 15% in 2014 to $1.58bn.
The new seaport, airport facilities, rail network, roads and highways, new hotels and recreation complexes are all contributing to the rapid growth in the interiors market. Qatar has a mandate to add 45,000 hotel rooms to its existing supply of 20,000 in order to achieve the FIFA minimum lodging requirement to host the World Cup in 2022.
Meetings with envoys
HE Assistant Foreign Minister for International Co-operation Affairs Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani met separately yesterday with Uruguay’s Ambassador to Qatar Jose Luis Remedi and South Korean Ambassador Chung Keejong. The meetings reviewed bilateral relations and means of enhancing and developing aspects of co-operation, in addition to issues of mutual concern.
Al Sadd PEC parking area closure
The Hamad Medical Corporation ( HMC) has informed that the parking area behind Al Sadd Paediatric Emergency (PEC) will be closed temporarily from this week.The closure is a result of expansion work being undertaken at Al Sadd PEC.
Patients and visitors are advised to use the parking area on the other side of the centre until the completion of the project. HMC stated that the expansion work is part of the organisation’s efforts to provide the safest, most effective and compassionate care to each and every one of the patients.