Qatar adopts global health care system to cater for workers

DOHA: Qatar provides best health care to its workers through an international health care system, said Dr. Sheikh Hassan Al Thani, Head of the Trauma, Vascular Surgery and General Surgery Sections at Hamad General Hospital.

He said that Qatar adopted the same pattern of the Swiss system based on separate health centers linked to HMC. Al Thani was speaking at first session of panel discussion titled “Medical Safety” held at 5th Labor and Workers Conference organised by Dar Al Sharq yesterday. He reviewed the development of the health system in Qatar and its transformation from a traditional system that uses folk remedies to the institutional system which is based on international standards and seeks to achieve the welfare of people. He said 6 million people die of trauma every year, which accounts for 10 percent of the world’s deaths, a higher proportion of deaths from infectious diseases, which requires giving more attention to workers injuries.

Dr Sheikh Hassan Al Thani pointed out that 50 percent of deaths from trauma occur before reaching the hospital or immediately after arrival, while 30 percent occur within an hour of arrival and 20 percent occur as a result of the injury.

Dr Ayman El Menyar, Director of Trauma Research and Development at Hamad General Hospital, discussed the importance of research in the prevention of workers’ injuries in Qatar. He pointed out that the work related injuries are the second cause of injuries after traffic accidents, stressing the importance of dealing with them seriously to prevent them.

Director of the Hamad Injury Prevention Program, Dr Rafael Consunji, discussed on the role of the program in the assuring safety of workers. “To prevent injuries we must provide information and facts and adopt realistic estimates,” said Consunji. He stressed that the real numbers of injuries and accidents are contrary to what is rumored on social media , pointing out that there is a decline in the number of injuries among workers in Qatar. The second session  discussed where the Qatari and international labor law meet. In this session, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at Qatar University College of Law Student Affairs Dr. Hassan El Barrawy touched on the modern directives of legal protection of workers.