Abu Dhabi has closed four health centres and is to refer all of their staff to public prosecutors to investigate claims they received payments for issuing fake sick notes.
The capital's Department of Health claimed certificates were issued via WhatsApp to people who never attended the facilities for an examination, in return for Dh100 ($27) for each day of sick leave approved.
Fraudulent documentation was then included in the patients’ medical records, complete with forged signatures of consent, according to the department.
The four health centres are alleged to have worked together to orchestrate the plot.
“Applicants were asked to provide personal identification, along with basic health details such as height and weight, after which they were given the facility’s bank account number to transfer Dh100 per sick leave day, the Department of Health said.
“The four facilities were found to be operating in co-ordination, using designated intermediaries to manage and distribute the issuance of these sick leaves across their operations.”
The Department of Health said it took the decision to shut down the four centres – which were not named – “due to the criminal and disciplinary nature of their actions”.
Healthcare providers in Abu Dhabi must strictly comply with the regulations and standards issued by the department. This safeguards public health and maintain the highest levels of service quality, transparency, accountability, and trust in the healthcare system, said the Department of Health.
Duminy's Test career in numbers
Tests 46; Runs 2,103; Best 166; Average 32.85; 100s 6; 50s 8; Wickets 42; Best 4-47
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.
The biog
Born: High Wycombe, England
Favourite vehicle: One with solid axels
Favourite camping spot: Anywhere I can get to.
Favourite road trip: My first trip to Kazakhstan-Kyrgyzstan. The desert they have over there is different and the language made it a bit more challenging.
Favourite spot in the UAE: Al Dhafra. It’s unique, natural, inaccessible, unspoilt.
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