Related: Inside a Beirut ICU where just 20 per cent survive battle with Covid-19
Hospitals in need of intensive care staff are fuelling the mass departure of doctors from Lebanon, heaping pressure on the nation's healthcare system.
There has been great demand in the region and around the world for medical staff.
That demand is placing further strain on Lebanon's pool of healthcare workers, many of whom were already looking to work overseas because of the country's economic crisis.
Dr Youssef Bakhach, general secretary of the Lebanese Order of Physicians in Beirut, said one in five doctors had already left the country or was planning to do so.
We estimate that 16 to 20 per cent of Lebanese doctors have already left or are planning to leave. The Gulf will always be an attractive destination
“We do not have exact numbers but we know every day we have up to 20 doctors coming to the LOP asking for their files to apply for ministry of health departments abroad. It is a big concern as we are depleting the system,” Dr Bakhach said.
He said many of those leaving were unlikely to return.
“Doctors leaving Lebanon is an increasing phenomenon and the problem will not be solved immediately," he said.
“We estimate that 16 to 20 per cent of Lebanese doctors have already left or are planning to leave.
“It could take 10 years to stabilise. The bleeding of doctors will continue as the Gulf region will always be an attractive destination.”
Typically, under labour laws, doctors work in UAE hospitals for a minimum of two years. But many choose to extend their contracts.
One hospital source said there was a surge of applications from Lebanon in recent months.
But some medics had unrealistic salary expectations compared with other applicants, the source said.
The collapse of Lebanon's banking system, anti-government protests and the port explosion that destroyed parts of Beirut have forced highly skilled medics to leave Lebanon.
Dr Bakhach said the mass departures would cause irreparable damage to Beirut's reputation as the medical capital of the Middle East and a health tourism destination.
Desperate need for doctors
A study by the European Commission predicted the EU would be in need of about 230,000 doctors to fill hospital vacancies.
Germany topped a list of nations reporting a shortage of staff owing to a large number of doctors reaching retirement age and too few new medics being trained. There are also more specialists in Germany than general practitioners.
As Germany doubled its intensive care beds to more than 40,000 in the summer of 2020 because of the pandemic, the country appealed to migrant doctors to fill the gap in hospitals.
Authorities focused on the 15,000 Syrian doctors already waiting to have their qualifications approved.
Since the outbreak of the civil war, about 70 per cent of medics in Syria have fled.
About 600 new doctors graduate each year at the seven internationally recognised medical schools in Lebanon.
But many look to continue their training in the US, Canada and Europe.
The UAE is becoming an increasingly popular destination, with about 80,000 Lebanese already living in the country.
Dr Bakhach, a professor of plastic surgery at the American University of Beirut Medical Centre, fears Lebanon could become a medical wasteland.
“Even before the pandemic, in Lebanon, our doctors used to look for work outside the country. It is a big concern for us to have them leave Lebanon” he said.
“This phenomenon is increasing and the long-term economic impact will not be solved immediately.
“Before we were the hospital of the Middle East and all people in the Gulf used to come to Lebanon for medical services.
"Now the Lebanese expertise is in Dubai and Abu Dhabi or Jeddah. Patients will not even think about coming to Lebanon any more.”
On average, doctors' salaries in Lebanon are a fifth of what they were a year ago. Private hospitals are owed more than $1.3 billion in outstanding payments dating back to 2011.
It has led many professionals to look to the Gulf for long-term reliable careers.
Malvika Varma, head of human resources for Prime Hospital in Dubai, expects new opportunities to continue to arise.
"The demand in the UAE is always there and we continue to source from other Gulf countries, as well as India and the Philippines," she said.
“We are looking for intensive care roles, nurses and doctors in particular.
“Mostly we recruit doctors from Lebanon rather than nurses."
She said the hospital received many CVs and applications from professionals in Beirut.
“They want to get recruited and know it is a standard two-year contract, but most of the doctors end up staying longer and renew their contracts," she said.
Mariah Siddiqui, chief executive of Hasa Consulting, recruits doctors for hospitals across the UAE and reported an increase in demand from Lebanese professionals.
“Lebanon is well known for high-end doctors thanks to its medical education and training facilities,” Ms Siddiqui said.
“Healthcare is a main priority for growth here and there has been a significant increase in the amount of upcoming hospitals and world-class infrastructure.
“As a result, last year we saw an increase in the amount of inquiries from healthcare professionals in Lebanon expressing an interest to work in the UAE.”
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Results
2.15pm: Handicap Dh80,000 1,950m
Winner: Hello, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Ali Rashid Al Raihi (trainer).
2.45pm: Handicap Dh90,000 1,800m
Winner: Right Flank, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.
3.15pm: Handicap Dh115,000 1,000m
Winner: Leading Spirit, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
3.45pm: Jebel Ali Mile Group 3 Dh575,000 1,600m
Winner: Chiefdom, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer.
4.15pm: Handicap Dh105,000 1,400m
Winner: Ode To Autumn, Patrick Cosgrave, Satish Seemar.
4.45pm: Shadwell Farm Conditions Dh125,000 1,200m
Winner: Last Surprise, James Doyle, Simon Crisford.
5.15pm: Handicap Dh85,000 1,200m
Winner: Daltrey, Sandro Paiva, Ali Rashid Al Raihi.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
Friday (All UAE kick-off times)
Borussia Dortmund v Eintracht Frankfurt (11.30pm)
Saturday
Union Berlin v Bayer Leverkusen (6.30pm)
FA Augsburg v SC Freiburg (6.30pm)
RB Leipzig v Werder Bremen (6.30pm)
SC Paderborn v Hertha Berlin (6.30pm)
Hoffenheim v Wolfsburg (6.30pm)
Fortuna Dusseldorf v Borussia Monchengladbach (9.30pm)
Sunday
Cologne v Bayern Munich (6.30pm)
Mainz v FC Schalke (9pm)
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
'Unrivaled: Why America Will Remain the World’s Sole Superpower'
Michael Beckley, Cornell Press
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Start-up hopes to end Japan's love affair with cash
Across most of Asia, people pay for taxi rides, restaurant meals and merchandise with smartphone-readable barcodes — except in Japan, where cash still rules. Now, as the country’s biggest web companies race to dominate the payments market, one Tokyo-based startup says it has a fighting chance to win with its QR app.
Origami had a head start when it introduced a QR-code payment service in late 2015 and has since signed up fast-food chain KFC, Tokyo’s largest cab company Nihon Kotsu and convenience store operator Lawson. The company raised $66 million in September to expand nationwide and plans to more than double its staff of about 100 employees, says founder Yoshiki Yasui.
Origami is betting that stores, which until now relied on direct mail and email newsletters, will pay for the ability to reach customers on their smartphones. For example, a hair salon using Origami’s payment app would be able to send a message to past customers with a coupon for their next haircut.
Quick Response codes, the dotted squares that can be read by smartphone cameras, were invented in the 1990s by a unit of Toyota Motor to track automotive parts. But when the Japanese pioneered digital payments almost two decades ago with contactless cards for train fares, they chose the so-called near-field communications technology. The high cost of rolling out NFC payments, convenient ATMs and a culture where lost wallets are often returned have all been cited as reasons why cash remains king in the archipelago. In China, however, QR codes dominate.
Cashless payments, which includes credit cards, accounted for just 20 per cent of total consumer spending in Japan during 2016, compared with 60 per cent in China and 89 per cent in South Korea, according to a report by the Bank of Japan.
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Wallabies
Updated team: 15-Israel Folau, 14-Dane Haylett-Petty, 13-Reece Hodge, 12-Matt Toomua, 11-Marika Koroibete, 10-Kurtley Beale, 9-Will Genia, 8-Pete Samu, 7-Michael Hooper (captain), 6-Lukhan Tui, 5-Adam Coleman, 4-Rory Arnold, 3-Allan Alaalatoa, 2-Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1-Scott Sio.
Replacements: 16-Folau Faingaa, 17-Tom Robertson, 18-Taniela Tupou, 19-Izack Rodda, 20-Ned Hanigan, 21-Joe Powell, 22-Bernard Foley, 23-Jack Maddocks.
Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000
Available: Now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
