Are the doctors at private hospitals primarily motivated by patients or profits? Photo: Silvia Razgova / The National
Are the doctors at private hospitals primarily motivated by patients or profits? Photo: Silvia Razgova / The National

Are we getting an unhealthy dose of health care?



You can expect fancy coffee shops, free Wi-Fi, welcome juices, dedicated relationship officers and much more when you visit some of Abu Dhabi’s best-known private hospitals. From the moment you walk through their sliding doors, you are greeted as a cherished guest and guided with courtesy and professionalism to your clinic of choice. In fact, the entire experience from the moment you park your car – or use the valet parking service – until you enter your doctor’s office is one of peace and tranquillity.

Those of us who remember the very limited options that were once available in Abu Dhabi appreciate just how far the private health care sector has come in terms of customer service, equipment and availability of medication.

In the past, when a medical condition was considered serious, plans to travel abroad to seek medical attention were immediately put in place, usually with assistance from the government. Now, the UAE has become a destination of choice for medical care for many people in the region and beyond.

Yet, the privatisation of medical care has brought with it the bean counters of the hospital finance departments whose profitability targets put pressure on the way physicians deal with their patients and has affected the quality of medical staff.

I recently visited what is considered to be one of Abu Dhabi’s best private hospitals to seek treatment for an old but serious back injury. It resulted in a five-minute consultation with a doctor who conducted a knee reflex test and immediately decided to recommended surgery. Knowing full well the history of my injury and that surgery was far from what I needed, I decided to collect my papers and move on to what I understood to be the second-best hospital in the capital.

This time, the physician decided to skip the physical check-up entirely and took only three minutes to recommend surgery. I debated the issue with him and we later agreed that anti-inflammatory medication, bed rest and some physiotherapy would suffice.

Many people I know have had similar experiences where the patient ends up bargaining with the doctor, almost pleading for him or her to push aside the need to make a profit through surgery and focus on a suitable alternative diagnosis. There are even horror stories of children being put through unnecessary surgeries, perfectly healthy teeth being removed and, of course, bags and bags of unnecessary medication being prescribed.

Even with this in mind, many of us still opt for private care over government hospitals. Childbirth is a perfect example. While it is widely understood that government hospitals offer far better medical equipment to deal with difficult deliveries, many couples still choose to deliver their children in private hospitals. Why? Because anyone whose child was born in a government hospital can tell you that the process is like being on a factory line.

Many countries have implemented private health care to offer services that are not available in the government sector. But we are fortunate enough to live in a country where the government spares no expense in aiming for world-class standards in all sectors, including health. Our government hospitals offer some of the most advanced medical equipment, facilities and personnel the world has to offer. Health tourism is rising rapidly in the country and the Health Authority Abu Dhabi is working wonders. So why do we turn to private hospitals?

To start with, it’s the shorter waiting time to see physicians – though this seems to be getting worse in some private hospitals, particularly to see paediatricians. Also, waiting lists for appointments can be horrendous in government hospitals. For example, it is absolutely normal to wait three months for your next dental appointment in the government sector. And, of course, the overall ambience of government hospitals, as in countries all over the world, is not appealing. The interior designs are outdated, with awful bland colours, and often the civil servants who assist you in your visit to the hospital are not very friendly.

Things are improving all the time in the government health sector but they are still losing the race to private sector hospitals whose hotel-style management and facilities are popping up all over Abu Dhabi – even in malls, to make your shopping experience richer.

With the private sector – and this is the same in hospitals worldwide – it is a business. We have to ask: are we now receiving too much health care with too many pills, too many tests and far too many visits?

I think we need to push the envelope even further in our government health care, offering more facilities, better management, and more clinics and physicians to ensure that they are our first choice before we automatically look towards those who will profit from our illness.

Taryam Al Subaihi is a political and social commentator who specialises in media and communications

On Twitter: @TaryamAlSubaihi

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Call of Duty: Black Ops 6

Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher:  Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5

WWE Super ShowDown results

Seth Rollins beat Baron Corbin to retain his WWE Universal title

Finn Balor defeated Andrade to stay WWE Intercontinental Championship

Shane McMahon defeated Roman Reigns

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Randy Orton beats Triple H

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Mansoor Al Shehail won the 50-man Battle Royal

The Undertaker beat Goldberg

 

The specs: McLaren 600LT

Price, base: Dh914,000

Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8

Transmission: Seven-speed automatic

Power: 600hp @ 7,500rpm

Torque: 620Nm @ 5,500rpm

Fuel economy 12.2.L / 100km

'Ghostbusters: From Beyond'

Director: Jason Reitman

Starring: Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace

Rating: 2/5

Best Foreign Language Film nominees

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Nepotism is the name of the game

Salman Khan’s father, Salim Khan, is one of Bollywood’s most legendary screenwriters. Through his partnership with co-writer Javed Akhtar, Salim is credited with having paved the path for the Indian film industry’s blockbuster format in the 1970s. Something his son now rules the roost of. More importantly, the Salim-Javed duo also created the persona of the “angry young man” for Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s, reflecting the angst of the average Indian. In choosing to be the ordinary man’s “hero” as opposed to a thespian in new Bollywood, Salman Khan remains tightly linked to his father’s oeuvre. Thanks dad. 

The specs

Engine: 1.5-litre turbo

Power: 181hp

Torque: 230Nm

Transmission: 6-speed automatic

Starting price: Dh79,000

On sale: Now

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APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)

Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits

Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine

Storage: 128/256/512GB

Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4

Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps

Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID

Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight

In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter

Price: From Dh2,099

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COMPANY PROFILE

Company: Bidzi

● Started: 2024

● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid

● Based: Dubai, UAE

● Industry: M&A

● Funding size: Bootstrapped

● No of employees: Nine

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How to increase your savings
  • Have a plan for your savings.
  • Decide on your emergency fund target and once that's achieved, assign your savings to another financial goal such as saving for a house or investing for retirement.
  • Decide on a financial goal that is important to you and put your savings to work for you.
  • It's important to have a purpose for your savings as it helps to keep you motivated to continue while also reducing the temptation to spend your savings. 

- Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching

 

 

Our legal advisor

Ahmad El Sayed is Senior Associate at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.

Experience: Commercial litigator who has assisted clients with overseas judgments before UAE courts. His specialties are cases related to banking, real estate, shareholder disputes, company liquidations and criminal matters as well as employment related litigation. 

Education: Sagesse University, Beirut, Lebanon, in 2005.

KEY HIGHLIGHTS

Healthcare spending to double to $2.2 trillion rupees

Launched a 641billion-rupee federal health scheme

Allotted 200 billion rupees for the recapitalisation of state-run banks

Around 1.75 trillion rupees allotted for privatisation and stake sales in state-owned assets

The specs

Engine: 5.0-litre supercharged V8

Transmission: Eight-speed auto

Power: 575bhp

Torque: 700Nm

Price: Dh554,000

On sale: now

Company profile: buybackbazaar.com

Name: buybackbazaar.com

Started: January 2018

Founder(s): Pishu Ganglani and Ricky Husaini

Based: Dubai

Sector: FinTech, micro finance

Initial investment: $1 million

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
 
Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
Sector: Entertainment 
 
Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
The specs

Engine: 4.0-litre V8

Power: 503hp at 6,000rpm

Torque: 685Nm at 2,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Price: from Dh850,000

On sale: now

The specs: 2018 Mercedes-Benz S 450

Price, base / as tested Dh525,000 / Dh559,000

Engine: 3.0L V6 biturbo

Transmission: Nine-speed automatic

Power: 369hp at 5,500rpm

Torque: 500Nm at 1,800rpm

Fuel economy, combined: 8.0L / 100km

Roll of honour

Who has won what so far in the West Asia Premiership season?

Western Clubs Champions League - Winners: Abu Dhabi Harlequins; Runners up: Bahrain

Dubai Rugby Sevens - Winners: Dubai Exiles; Runners up: Jebel Ali Dragons

West Asia Premiership - Winners: Jebel Ali Dragons; Runners up: Abu Dhabi Harlequins

UAE Premiership Cup - Winners: Abu Dhabi Harlequins; Runners up: Dubai Exiles

West Asia Cup - Winners: Bahrain; Runners up: Dubai Exiles

West Asia Trophy - Winners: Dubai Hurricanes; Runners up: DSC Eagles

Final West Asia Premiership standings - 1. Jebel Ali Dragons; 2. Abu Dhabi Harlequins; 3. Bahrain; 4. Dubai Exiles; 5. Dubai Hurricanes; 6. DSC Eagles; 7. Abu Dhabi Saracens

Fixture (UAE Premiership final) - Friday, April 13, Al Ain – Dubai Exiles v Abu Dhabi Harlequins

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