DOHA: In a bid to promote health and wellness of the growing expatriate workforce here, the Supreme Council of Health (SCH) is set to launch a national occupational health registry. The move by Department of Health Promotion and Non communicable disease will register and classify workplace related diseases and incidence.
Workplace injuries are the third highest cause of accidental deaths in Qatar. The vast population of male labourers, primarily in the construction industry, has limited access to healthcare services and also operates in hazardous environments.
The new move is in tune with the National Health Strategy (NHS) 2011-2016 which urges a robust regulatory framework for occupational health. The new registry will focus on workplace disease, injury and accident and will help to monitor occupational health status and identify areas that need more attention.
Qatar does not have national occupational health standards or guidelines and there is limited data on workplace-related fatalities, according to NHS.
Expert opinion suggests a rate of about four to five fatalities per 100,000 workers, here, approximately double the rate in the European Union (EU). It is also estimated that 500 patients per day, who account for some 30 percent of the total seen daily at Hamad General Hospital, are workers who needlessly place significant demand on the Emergency Department, though they should be seen in the ambulatory setting.
The registry initaitive is part of a broader strategy pursued by SCH that aims to raise the quality of health services provided to foreign workers through various projects. This project includes construction of three hospitals and five health centers, first of which is run by Qatar Red Crescent in Industrial area. Other facilities planned have been distributed through out Qatar in places with high concentration of expatriate workers.
The initiative highlight the country's interest in migrant worker's health, which has also led to the formation of a joint committee including officials from SCH and Ministry of Labour, to initiate health legislations and other issues related to these workers.
However, many employers do not seem to be in full compliance with some of occupational health legislation provisions in Qatar, which aim to safeguard the health of workers.
Article 104 of the 2004 Labour Law states that "if the number of workers exceeds 100, the employer shall appoint a fulltime male nurse in addition to providing the required number of first aid boxes, if the number of employees exceeds 500, the employer shall set up a clinic, manned by at least one medical practitioner and a male nurse." However, many companies choose to ignore this legislation, and some of those that try to abide by the regulation experience difficulty recruiting and retaining medical personnel.
The registry and other occupational health projects aim to ease the pressure on health facilities, using other alternatives. The proportion of foreign workers in Qatar is the highest in the world, according to UN Human Development Report- 2009, with some 80 percent of the population being expat workers.
© The Peninsula 2011
