Dubai Health Authority’s (DHA) Medical Fitness Department has conducted nearly a million medical fitness procedures during the first half of 2014.

The fitness department has conducted a total of 992,322 medical fitness procedures during the first half six months of the year.

Maisa Al Bustani, director of medical fitness at the DHA, said: “Of the total tests conducted, 478,451 fitness tests were for issuance of new visas and the remaining were for renewal of visas.”

Medical fitness is a mandatory requirement for all expats in the UAE. It is required for a residency, employment or education visa.

The DHA has 16 medical fitness centres located across different parts of the emirate for issuance and renewal of medical fitness tests.

Al Bustani also advised that people who employ house help should get their employees screened for infectious diseases as soon as they arrive in the UAE.

Two categories of employees will undergo additional screening: household workers such as drivers, cooks, gardeners, nannies and housemaids. The second category includes people in the food industry, those working in beauty parlours and health clubs. “Additional screening is required for these categories because of the sensitivity of their profession,” she said.

In terms of service provision, she highlighted that the DHA offers mobile medical fitness service for companies with a large number of employees. “This is not the Tawajod service, it’s an additional service we started for companies with a large number of employees. This service is available for renewal and issuance of visas. Our team conducts on-the-spot blood tests in the premises of the company and then provides appointments for the x-ray tests at a centre closest to the company. We encourage more companies to make use of this opportunity. At one time more than 70 employees are screened.”

In addition, the DHA has the Tawajod (at your doorstep) service and Tawajod Xpress service. This service is free of cost for people with special needs and Dh260 ($70.79) is charged for visa.

Al Bustani said a new branch for VIP patients will be established by the end of the year.

Furthermore, two medical fitness centres will be setup for occupational screening by early 2015. This screening is needed for those people who wish to get a certification according to the requirement of their profession such as a pre-employment certificate for employees working in private and government sector. It is also required for heavy truck drivers, civil defence professionals and people working in the food industry due to the nature of the job.

The new screening centres will be located in Mirdiff and Karama. – TradeArabia News Service