DUBAI // Doctors have been caught issuing thousands of illegal and fake sick notes to government employees.
The Dubai Health Authority (DHA) revoked the licences of three doctors, one of whom issued 2,500 notes in one year, after investigating claims of the illegal practice. It has also temporarily closed a private clinic.
Patients are usually charged Dh100 for each note. Most clinics do not charge workers from the private sector.
Abdulla al Falasi, director of medical licensing at the Department of Health and Medical Services, said of the doctor who issued about 2,500 notes: "This is a huge number. We began investigating and then approached the doctor to ask for the files of the patients. We found he did not have them. He was not issuing the sick notes for genuine reasons. This is fraud."
A general medical committee and an online sick-note application process allow the DHA to monitor sick leave taken by government employees and look for doctors who issue unusually large numbers of notes.
A circular issued by the health department in January reminded all public and private sector facilities that they must use the electronic sick-note system rather than write notes manually.
That means doctors must fill in and register the sick leave application on the department's website, where the application will be approved or rejected. The employer can check the registration number of the note online to verify that it was approved by the authority and the reasons for the sick leave are genuine.
The system also allows the authority to monitor the numbers of sick notes being issued by individual doctors or clinics and also monitor the amount of sick leave being taken.
"We watch it very, very closely. It helps employers know if their staff are cheating. We want everyone to know that is they issue the notes fraudulently or take sick leave when they should not, we will find out."
Government employees are entitled to five days of sick leave with a doctor's note before it is reported to the general medical committee at the health department, which scrutinises longer sick leave to spot suspect notes.
If an alarm is raised with the DHA, the committee will investigate the claims and report its findings and recommendations to another committee, which decides what action should be taken against the doctor.
Mr al Falasi said some employees were caught taking one or two sick days every few weeks.
"This will be noticed," he said. "Employers do not want this to happen. If they are being given fake notes, we will find out."
The committee was created last year after the DHA found government employees were using fake sick notes to take advantage of their 90-day allowance of sick leave.
According to labour laws, employees who pass their probation and have worked for more than three months are entitled to up to 90 days sick leave each year. They receive full pay for the first 15 days, half pay for the next 30 days, and no pay for the remaining time.
In October, the DHA revoked the licenses of two doctors who each signed more than 1,000 sick notes for civil servants who were not ill. The Dubai Naturalisation and Residency Department alerted the DHA of two clinics issuing fake notes after they spotted patterns in their employees' sick leave.
munderwood@thenational.ae
The Written World: How Literature Shaped History
Martin Puchner
Granta
hall of shame
SUNDERLAND 2002-03
No one has ended a Premier League season quite like Sunderland. They lost each of their final 15 games, taking no points after January. They ended up with 19 in total, sacking managers Peter Reid and Howard Wilkinson and losing 3-1 to Charlton when they scored three own goals in eight minutes.
SUNDERLAND 2005-06
Until Derby came along, Sunderland’s total of 15 points was the Premier League’s record low. They made it until May and their final home game before winning at the Stadium of Light while they lost a joint record 29 of their 38 league games.
HUDDERSFIELD 2018-19
Joined Derby as the only team to be relegated in March. No striker scored until January, while only two players got more assists than goalkeeper Jonas Lossl. The mid-season appointment Jan Siewert was to end his time as Huddersfield manager with a 5.3 per cent win rate.
ASTON VILLA 2015-16
Perhaps the most inexplicably bad season, considering they signed Idrissa Gueye and Adama Traore and still only got 17 points. Villa won their first league game, but none of the next 19. They ended an abominable campaign by taking one point from the last 39 available.
FULHAM 2018-19
Terrible in different ways. Fulham’s total of 26 points is not among the lowest ever but they contrived to get relegated after spending over £100 million (Dh457m) in the transfer market. Much of it went on defenders but they only kept two clean sheets in their first 33 games.
LA LIGA: Sporting Gijon, 13 points in 1997-98.
BUNDESLIGA: Tasmania Berlin, 10 points in 1965-66
WWE Evolution results
- Trish Stratus and Lita beat Alicia Fox and Mickie James in a tag match
- Nia Jax won a battle royal, eliminating Ember Moon last to win
- Toni Storm beat Io Shirai to win the Mae Young Classic
- Natalya, Sasha Banks and Bayley beat The Riott Squad in a six-woman tag match
- Shayna Baszler won the NXT Women’s title by defeating Kairi Sane
- Becky Lynch retained the SmackDown Women’s Championship against Charlotte Flair in a Last Woman Standing match
- Ronda Rousey retained the Raw Women’s title by beating Nikki Bella
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Alaan%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202021%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Parthi%20Duraisamy%20and%20Karun%20Kurien%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20FinTech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%247%20million%20raised%20in%20total%20%E2%80%94%20%242.5%20million%20in%20a%20seed%20round%20and%20%244.5%20million%20in%20a%20pre-series%20A%20round%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Cryopreservation: A timeline
- Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
- Ovarian tissue surgically removed
- Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
- Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
- Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
