Occupational health services in the Gulf falling behind other industrialised nations

A delegation of local, regional and international medical practitioners will discuss this important issue at the 3rd Annual GCC Occupational Conference titled "Advances In International Occupational Medicine And Their Effects In The Region", to be held in Dubai from January 30 to February 3, it was announced today.

One in six of all fatal injuries worldwide of people aged between 17 and 64 occurs while at work, almost nine in every one hundred full-time employees will be injured or suffer a work related illness. The five-day event will highlight issues surrounding the medical treatment, injury prevention and rehabilitation of workers at GCC companies.

Dr. Jalees Razavi, a specialist in occupational medicine, and the first and only doctor from the Middle East to be appointed to the American Board of Independent Medical Examiners, says that there is a lack of physicians, nurses and paramedics trained in occupational medicine across the region.

"If we compare GCC countries to other industrial counties in the world, we are still living in the 1950s when it comes to occupational health services provided to the workforce, even though we are growing at the same rate," he said. "We simply do not have an adequate number of people with appropriate levels of occupational health training to deal with the number of cases that we are seeing."

"This occupational health crisis causes a loss in productivity and ultimately leads to businesses and the state bearing the financial burden," said Dr. Razavi, who is president and chairman of the Gulf Occupational and Environment Medicine Group, and chairman of the conference to be held at the J.W. Marriott Hotel in Dubai.

For the second year running, the conference has been awarded the Gold Seal of Accreditation from the prestigious American Academy of Continuing Medical Education (AACME). The certification means the conference has undergone an extensive assessment and peer-based survey of its facilities, programmes and services.

The AACME accreditation ensures many Middle East practitioners, who would previously have to travel outside the region to continue their education, can now undergo continuing medical education while attending the Occupational Health Conference, organised by IIR, in Dubai from January 30 to February 3, 2005.

"This is the second year the Annual GCC Occupational Health Conference has been awarded accreditation by the AACME, demonstrating the continued commitment to provide health care professionals in the region with quality educational opportunities," said Cynthia Mueller, Chair, International Accreditation Review Committee, AACME.

"The independent evaluation sought by IIR, mean those attending will have access to world-class research, speakers and medical workshops," she added.

"Occupational health is an issue touching the lives of almost every worker in the GCC at one point," said Jackie Wilks, Conference Director, IIR. "We have assembled a panel of world-renowned experts in this field to provide the latest research and treatment findings to occupational health practitioners in the Gulf. Our status as an accredited organisation allows us to provide that extra measure of confidence that the community wants to see in its physicians, other health care professionals, and health care service providers" she added.