HEALTHCARE facilities across the country have been warned against recruiting expatriates for specialised medical roles which can be filled by qualified citizens.
The National Health Regulatory Authority (NHRA) yesterday reiterated the clamp on licensing non-Bahrainis in certain professional specialties.
“The restriction aims to pave the way for Bahrainis seeking jobs in the healthcare sector,” NHRA chief executive Dr Mariam Al Jalahma said in a statement.
The authority has issued circulars over the past three years banning the hiring of practitioners, dentists, lab technicians, X-ray specialists and physiotherapists as there are several licensed Bahrainis seeking work in these fields.
The Supreme Council for Health (SCH) had also set a criteria for categorising physicians based on required certifications and years of expertise. An expatriate physician should be no less than a specialist or a consultant to be recruited.
Article 14 of Law No. 21 of 2015 stipulates that medical facilities in the private sector should give priority to qualified Bahraini doctors, technicians and nurses with suitable experience.
The restriction, however, does not apply to jobs that require specialised expertise deemed ‘rare’ and ‘not available’.
The GDN earlier reported that 10 MPs, led by Parliament first deputy speaker Abdulnabi Salman, had called on the government to provide jobs for Bahraini medical graduates. They claimed that hundreds of doctors were struggling with unemployment despite being qualified for the role.
Health Minister Dr Jalila Al Sayyed affirmed that only 12 per cent of doctors in Bahrain’s public health sector were expatriates.
While addressing the Parliament, Dr Al Sayyed said that 318 Bahraini doctors were hired during the last three years while 648 have been trained since 2016.
A total of 264 Bahraini doctors were still undergoing training, she said, adding that Bahrainis constituted 88pc of doctors in the public health sector and 93pc in the dental sector.
Meanwhile, Labour Minister and Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) chairman Jameel Humaidan said the authority has tightened controls to ensure employers aren’t affected by illegal employment.
Joint inspection campaigns are conducted on a regular basis to ensure the complementarity of the various agencies’ tasks and responsibilities concerning law enforcement, he added.
In reply to a parliamentary question submitted by MP Mamdouh Abbas Al Saleh, he said the number of workers registered with labour registration centres reached 35,844, during the first phase to correct the status of flexi permit holders as well as illegal workers.
He pointed out that the LMRA is currently working to list professions for registered workers, in order to regulate their presence and work in the market, effectively and positively.
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