Dubai, UAE: Dubai residents going in for medical fitness tests for visa renewal and new visas were caught in long queues due to a complete system breakdown at the express medical fitness centre in Karama on Tuesday, an eyewitness who was caught unawares reported.
At least 2,000 people were seen moving from the registration counter, to the courier service to the actual blood test queues that did not seem to move for nearly three hours.
Carmen Pinto, an Indian executive who was there for visa renewal, said: “What I do not understand is that this is an express centre and we spend nearly a day here waiting in different queues. The Dubai Health Authority (DHA) has closed down the Satwa centre and the only reasonably paid centre is this. We cannot afford the VIP centres that charge over Dh700.
“We come here and pay Dh420 for a 48-hour service, but the inconvenience shared by those paying for the 24-hour service is the same. Everyone waits in the same queue irrespective of the amount you pay. So what is the point?”
Ameena Ahmad, an Asian student, wanted to know why the government in this era of smart governance could not start online appointment system using smart services. “We come here and first wait in a queue at the information centre, then we are given a token and move to the registration queue, then the courier service payment queue, after which we get a chance to stand in the real blood test queue. This system could be simplified with the registration and courier service payments done online and medical tests made by appointment only,” she suggested.
Elizabeth K, a Russian expatriate on her first job in the city, feared her boss would tick her off for being late at work. “I arrived in Dubai only during the Eid week and joined office two days ago. I came to the centre at 7.30am, hoping to finish this by 9am and reaching office on time. However, with the system breakdown, I have been stuck in these queues for three hours. I had called office to say I would have to take half a day off but now it looks like I will be stuck here for the better part of the day,” she complained.
Many others complained that there was definitely a shortage of medical fitness centres in Dubai. “With the closing down of the Satwa medical fitness centre, we really need at least one more regular centre in the area. That would ease off the pressure at this centre,” said A. Ahmad waiting in the men’s blood test queue for over two hours. He said he had to face a similar ordeal during his visa renewal two years ago. The female-only medical fitness centre in Rashidiya has also been closed for maintenance and renovation.
A DHA senior official looking after the running of the medical fitness centres admitted there was a computer glitch that caused a systems failure. “The Medical Fitness Centre in Karama was shortly down for maintenance and was back to work after a few hours.
“We, at the DHA, strive to continuously provide our customers with the best services possible and in some cases maintenance work is required to be completed periodically.”
© Gulf News
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