New UAE policy to attract more GCC medical professionals

In future, government services will be more accessible and easier for the public, says Dr. Salem Al-Darmaki, undersecretary at Ministry of Health in the United Arab Emirates.
He was talking to Arab News on the sidelines of the Government Summit that concluded here on Tuesday.
“Ministry of Health has several plans and some of them have already implemented,” Al-Darmaki said. “For example, health care professionals can now apply for a medical license through the fully operational online Examination and Evaluation System (EES). They don’t need to come to the UAE and this will reduce the expense and save the time of the candidate.”
“This move will attract more medical professional to the UAE from other countries including GCC,” he told Arab news. “We want to make government services easier and accessible The Health Ministry also has recently reduced the prices of several medications. Healthcare has become much cheaper after we reduced the prices of over 6,000 medications, Al-Darmaki said.
In addition to a ministerial roundtable that presented the success stories of the region’s government service models, the concluding day of the summit featured several knowledge-sharing workshops, in line with the mandate of the event to promote the exchange of best practices in government service delivery
Most of the interactive sessions highlighted issues directly related to the citizen’s needs’ and the best methods to improve government services.
In a ministerial round table, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mubarak, minister of Public Works and chairman of the Board of Directors to Sheikh Zayed Housing Program, said that the UAE is focused on providing five-star service across all its government departments.
He said that the UAE’s MyGov portal is a strong testament to how the country leverages the power of ICT, while also ensuring swift response to customer queries.
“Improving the quality of services offered is our top priority, and we provide regular training to our officials to further enhance the service standards offered,” he said.
Bahrain’s e-Government model, presented by Mohamed Al Qaed, chief executive officer, Bahrain e-Government Authority, was also identified as strong success story from the region, with Al Qaed underscoring the efficiencies that can be achieved by sharing such knowledge across the region.
He said that an interconnected model of e-Governance that links all government departments and a focus on holistic innovation will be key drivers to further enhance the efficiency of e-Government service provision.
Lessons in private sector engagement in the UAE were shared at a session on customer-centric service delivery, with the participating private sector entities unanimous in their observation that the country stands out for the quality of services provided in the public sector.