By Fazeena Saleem
DOHA: Public health authorities plan to open special clinics for occupational and environment health services at upcoming three major hospitals that would cater to low-income single foreign workers.
The Supreme Council of Health (SCH) will operate the clinics with physicians trained in occupational and environment health services. They will identify work-related health problems of patients and educate them on workplace risks.
The clinics will open once hospitals for workers in Industrial Area, Ras Laffan and Mesaieed start functioning, said Dr Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad Al Thani, Director, Public Health, SCH.
“We hope to open big clinics for occupational and environment health services in the new single male labour hospitals. It will help identify workplace risks,” he said on the sidelines of a workshop on ‘Training of general practitioners and other speciality physicians on basic occupational and environmental health services’ yesterday.
The SCH, in collaboration with World Health Organisation’s Regional Office for Eastern Mediterranean (WHO/EMRO) holds five training modules for occupational and environment health services for general practitioners and general practitioners at primary health centres and Qatar Red Crescent.
The training programme scheduled to end within the year is being conducted as the expatriate labour population is expected to significantly increase to work in infrastructure projects ahead of Qatar’s hosting of FIFA World Cup 2022.
“By training doctors, we hope to provide proper treatment for problems faced by people due to their daily work.
“With this, we aim to lower deaths, accidents, injuries and chronic diseases,” said Dr Al Thani.
“The SCH is looking to build occupational health capacity by training primary care physicians, or more accurately, physicians of first contact for expanding and improving occupational health services to protect, promote and maintain health of the large population of expatriate male labourers, primarily in the construction industry, who have limited access to healthcare services and may operate in hazardous environments,” he added.
However, Dr Al Thani said occupational health problems are common for blue collar and white collar workers.
“It’s not about labourers, even a doctor may have to be protected from infections, engineers from accidents and if drivers have a poor vision, it’s related to their work and will have to take care about it,” he said.
Initially, 30 physicians will be trained in occupational and environment health services by WHO/EMRO. Later, these physicians will train colleagues.
The Peninsula
