NEWS FROM THE UAE
SOURCE ; THE NATIONAL

Drivers face tougher training

ABU DHABI - NOV 09: Driver licensing, motorist training and road safety education are to be overhauled as part of major changes to improve the country’s poor road crash record and reduce traffic congestion.

Learner drivers could face more rigorous tests as part of a programme designed to improve road safety.

The Ministry of Interior has said it plans to overhaul procedures for learners, improve road safety education and implement studies on cutting congestion and managing crash black spots.

There were 1,056 deaths on the roads last year, up 20 per cent from 2006. About 12,210 people were injured, an increase of nearly six per cent. Traffic congestion is also worsening and the country loses about Dh5 billion (US$1.36bn) to it a year, according to a department of planning and economy report.

Col Gaith al Zaabi, the director of the ministry’s traffic department, said it would implement new procedures for learners, including the setting up of driving schools and centres throughout the country.

Col Zaabi added that new classifications for driving licences would be created, although details were still being discussed. Currently each emirate has its own regime, although licences are valid across the country.

Col Zaabi said the department would soon sign agreements with organisations that will study how to improve behaviour on the roads through education and enforcement. The ministry is also studying the possibility of setting up a traffic research institute, developing heavy vehicles inspections and standardising vehicle inspections across the country.

“Every study will come out with a number of recommendations and those recommendations will be used as a basis for improving the situation,” said Col Zaabi.

The proposed studies come out of a recently formed federal traffic committee, chaired by Saeed al Hanki, director of the police research centre at the Ministry of Interior.

Starting today, a five-day seminar on traffic safety management systems is being hosted by Abu Dhabi, bringing experts from around the world. Issues to be addressed include the nature of car crashes in the Arab world, traffic safety on the international level and improving infrastructure.

The event is organised by the UAE Traffic Safety Society, the International Organisation for the Prevention of Accidents and the Arab Organisation for Traffic Safety. Abu Dhabi Police and the National Authority of Transport are also participating.

During the first half of this year, 433 road accidents and 65 deaths in the Dubai emirate were blamed on drivers aged from 18 to 28. This compares with 380 accidents, involving 47 deaths, in which the drivers accused of fault were aged between 30 and 40.

Most crashes involving young people are said to occur as a result of speeding or recklessness on the part of drivers aged between 20 and 25, almost always male and often at the wheel of a vehicle costing hundreds of thousands of dirhams.

The Ministry of Interior initiatives join a Government plan to get old cars off the roads and to toughen vehicle emissions standards. Starting next month, light vehicles older than 20 years will be taken off the road when their registration comes up for renewal. That will park about 68,000 light vehicles by the end of 2009.

In January, a ban will also be imposed on the transfer of light vehicles more than 10 years old.

 
Hospitals held back as building costs rise

ABU DHABI - NOV 09: Medical projects are being postponed, reduced in scale or are running over budget as the price of building increases.

The Ministry of Public Works has asked the Ministry of Health to re-evaluate all planned healthcare and hospital projects in the northern Emirates.

The Health Ministry plans to build as many as 13 primary healthcare centres and increase the number of hospital beds in Ras al Khaimah. Al Qassimi hospital is also establishing a heart centre.

Dr Abdullah al Nuaimi, the director general of public works, said construction costs had increased so much that the ministry could no longer afford to continue with plans as they were.

He said his ministry had asked health officials to “reconsider downscaling or reducing some of their requirements… to look into what pieces could be saved and what pieces should be postponed for another phase”.

He added that projects had been put through feasibility studies to determine whether all elements of each plan were necessary, and in some cases the scope of the project had been reduced.

Projects that were due for early 2009 have been pushed back until later in the year. Dr Nuaimi would not say which projects have been delayed or how they have been scaled down.

The budget problems have been blamed on a lack of qualified contractors, high steel prices over the past year and a shortage of concrete. While prices and supplies have recently returned to normal, the damage has already been done.

“2008 is abnormal,” said Dr Nuaimi. “Construction costs increase every year due to inflation but the increase is within five or six per cent.”

The medical system in the UAE is expanding every year, and the Government is attracting private investors to help meet demands.

The exact scope of the problem is not known as many medical projects that have been planned are private arrangements.

“I’ve heard that people who were planning on coming online in 2010 or 2011, are now saying 2012 or 2013,” said Richard Larison, the chief executive officer of the American Hospital Dubai. “Nobody is really coming out and saying there is a problem but there is a lot of anecdotal evidence out there about things being pushed back.”

He said the plans already being executed for the expansion of his hospital are not affected, but that the inflation is something to bear in mind for future endeavours.

“There are situations that, before the project has begun, people are asking if they can make it into a viable business model. People are asking whether they can raise the prices high enough to be able to get a return.”

Both health authorities, in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, say the increase in prices has not affected them in a significant way, and that no projects have been stopped. The Ministry of Public Works is proceeding on the basis that this situation was a blip and will not be repeated.

Brian de Francesca, the chief operating officer of Tawam Hospital in Al Ain, said the budget of its expansion project had soared from Dh10 billion (US$2.7bn) to “Dh12bn or Dh14bn”.

“Generally we were always very conservative both on the timing of the project and the inflation rate, which I’m glad we did. If we had estimated 10 per cent inflation over three years [similar to other countries] then we would have been sunk.

“Everyone sees the UAE and the Middle East as an endless bucket of money and people are coming out of the woodwork to get involved on projects,” said Mr de Francesca.

“There are a lot of very good organisations but there are a lot of questionable ones as well. That is one of the greatest challenges, to weed out who is what.”

Doctor calls for national colon cancer screening

ABU DHABI - NOV 09: A leading doctor has called for a national programme to screen for colon cancer, the second-most common form of cancer in the UAE.

Dr Emad al Rahmani, chairman of medicine at Mafraq Hospital, told the Abu Dhabi Medical Congress that screening would significantly reduce the number of people affected by the disease.

Colon cancer can be prevented if abnormalities are spotted and treated. Dr Rahmani would like to see all men and women aged 45, or 35 if there is a family history, undergo such testing.

“Currently there are no guidelines, which means there is not as much awareness about the importance of screening,” he said. “I hope guidelines will be put in place, which will help the situation a lot.

“The statistics are vague here but I have seen the National Cancer Registry and the results were very alarming. Its relative incidence has almost doubled in the Emirates in the past 10 years.”

Meat and fat-heavy diets that are low in fibre have been linked to colon cancer. Other risk factors include lack of exercise, being overweight and smoking.

Colon cancer is caused by the abnormal growth of cells in the lining of the bowel. Small lumps, called polyps, can develop either as benign tumours or be caused by the growth of cancerous cells.

The polyps are detected and can be immediately removed by a procedure called a colonoscopy.

“You can prevent the colon cancer from occurring,” said Dr Rahmani. “You can remove the pre-cancerous polyps and take one form of cancer out of the patient’s equation for 10 years.”

Dr Rahmani has prepared proposals to introduce a national screening programme for colon cancer, similar to the ones for breast cancer. He has received positive feedback from health authorities in Abu Dhabi but no decisions have been made.

Countries differ, but the average age for colon screening is 50.

“The UAE should start screening at 45,” Dr Rahmani said. “I have reviewed a lot of cases that started at an earlier age than in the western hemisphere.”

Family history also plays a role: if any family member has had colon, rectum or bowel-related problems, the chances of developing colon cancer are higher.

Breast cancer patients also have more risk of getting colon polyps. Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer in the UAE, accounting for 22.8 per cent of all diagnosed cancer cases.

Dr Rahmani would like insurance companies to cover colonoscopy. Recently the national insurance company said it was including annual screening for prostate cancer in its enhanced plans for people over 45. They also include annual breast cancer screening.

“It would be a very positive step in helping reduce the number of cases. Colon cancer can be detected very early and then prevented for around 10 years.”