Department of Health (DoH) secretary Dr Paulyn Jean B Rosell-Ubial is scheduled to meet with MoPH officials on January 23 to discuss the equivalency of Filipino medical professionals – doctors, consultants, specialists, and other health practitioners working in Qatar.
Philippine Business Council-Qatar (PBC) chairman Greg Loayon said the discussion on equivalency reinforces the competency of Filipino medical professionals here, including those in the Philippines who want to work in Qatar.
“From a licensing perspective, their qualifications are at par with international standards. In terms of our efforts to address one of the pillars of the Qatar National Vision 2030, this would spur an influx of Filipino medical professionals in Qatar and I think, overall, it’s going to benefit the Qatar population because we are adding more qualified doctors into the country,” Loayon told Gulf Times.
Loayon said the Philippines is known for its “rigorous training” in the field of medicine. He noted that many students in the Middle East are taking up medicine and dentistry in the Philippines.
“This trend is not stopping because the level of education that we provide doctors and medical professionals as a whole is world-class, and that level of competency needs to be recognised,” he stressed.
Loayon also said Ubial will also witness the signing of a memorandum of understanding between a Qatari investor and Dr Jose Tiongco, the CEO of Medical Mission Group & Health Services Co-operative Philippines (MMGHHSCP), for the establishment of the first Philippine polyclinic in Qatar.
Under the auspices of the PBC, Tiongco and other MMGHHSCP executives have held a series of meetings in Doha with prospective Qatari investors since October 2015. The group proposed for the initial construction of a hospital to serve as a hub for secondary healthcare services.
The project will also extend “to multi-specialty clinics in major population areas manned by generalists and family medicine specialists and support staff,” Loayon pointed out.
“We’re going to start with polyclinics feeding into the hospital so we’re opening the polyclinic first. At the moment, the hospital is on the design phase already. However, the building for the polyclinic is already available,” Loayon said.
He added: “We also want DoH secretary Ubial to get in touch with the Filipino community here such that they will also see the programmes that we’re doing here have the support of the Philippine government.”
Department of Health (DoH) secretary Dr Paulyn Jean B Rosell-Ubial.
The Philippines’ health secretary will visit Qatar to discuss with the Ministry of Public Health the equivalency of Qatar-based Filipino medical professionals, and to witness an MoU signing for the setting-up of the first Philippine polyclinic here, an official has said.
