Despite the Ministry of Health introducing some regulatory measures at the labor examination health centers, crowds of visitors continue, a scenario which sometimes look chaotic.
The ministry had previously proposed one of the solutions to the crisis, including “allocating the morning period to receive domestic workers along with the sponsor, and the rest of the workers in the evening provided they book their appointments online, reports a local Arabic daily.
This procedure succeeded in alleviating the headache of the ministry officials for a few days, but the crisis quickly reared its head again, with the visitors not adhering to the reservation dates or misestimating the capacity of the examination centers.
The sight of the visitors queuing outside the examination centers, under harsh weather conditions is tantamount to suffering which is crowned with success in completing the test, or failure and disappointment, and beginning the journey all over again the next day.
Health sources say what the ministry has done to solve the problem is given merely “painkillers” that will soon have no effect, in light of the great pressure on examination centers and the increasing numbers applicants, which rose from about 1,600 per day before the Corona crisis, to about 3,000, and continues to increase with every passing day.
The sources acknowledged that the way to solve the crisis lies in accelerating the implementation of 6 procedures put in place by the ministry, which continues to be postponed, for reasons best known to the concerned persons which now require a decisive decision from the Minister of Health, Dr. Khaled Al-Saeed.
The six procedures include:
1 – Operating a new center in Mishref, with a capacity of 500 to 700 cases per day.
2 – Processing and opening other centers to raise the capacity to 4000 transactions per day.
3 – Increasing the capacity at the existing centers, which have been raised, but without achieving the target so far.
4 – Checking the pre-booking dates, in proportion to the capacity of the centers.
5 – Consulting and coordinating with the Ministry of Interior regarding visitors who do not obtain a prior appointment.
6 – The increase in the number of laboratories at some health facilities, to relieve pressure on the existing laboratories