Most people turn up for the mandatory health checks at the Medical Commission in the morning hours, which the Commission says causes delays. The Commission is open throughout the day so people should come at different hours, and not all at once, and that would make theirs as well as its work easier. Salim Matramkot
By Fazeena Saleem
DOHA: The Medical Commission that runs mandatory health checks on freshly-arrived foreign workers, and eatery and barber shop workers annually, is to open its Industrial Area branch next month.
The new facility is expected to ease crowding at the panel’s premises.
The commission runs annual medical checks on workers at eateries and barber shops to ensure their compliance with civic health and safety rules.
The Director of the commission, Dr Ibrahim Al Shaar, told The Peninsula yesterday that for a number of years the periodicity of health checks for eatery and salon workers has been annual.
He refuted accusations that people have been complaining of delays in checks as the panel’s system is slow.
The commission operates almost throughout the day but people usually turn up in large numbers during morning hours.
“The result is that there is a huge crowd at a time,” he said.
Ramadan timings of the commission are from 9am until 5pm, while its normal timings are from 7am until 5pm.
“If people come at different hours during the day, theirs and our work
would be easier, but for some reason everyone likes to rush in morning hours,” Dr Al Shaar said.
One should remember that the population has been increasing at a rapid pace and the number of eateries and barber shops has also been going up, he said.
“This is putting pressure on the commission.
According to Dr Al Shaar, the Industrial Area branch will begin working from next month. He, however, didn’t specify the date.
This reporter, during a visit to the commission early yesterday, found that a large number of people had gathered for medical tests.
Long queues were seen at different sections, especially those for men and women.
