Oman needs 3,280 medical professionals - DOLE

by Estrella Torres, BusinessMirror
MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine labor department said the Sultanate of Oman announced that Filipino medical professionals could seek jobs in the Arab state to fill 3,288 vacant positions for doctors and nurses.
Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said the job openings in the oil-rich country would “certainly boost the chances of our highly skilled and highly qualified medical workers, particularly our nurses.”
But the labor chief warned that, “OFWs [overseas Filipino workers] wanting to work in Oman should apply only with POEA [Philippine Overseas Employment Administration]-licensed overseas recruitment agencies with verified job orders in Oman to avoid getting illegally recruited.”
Philippine Ambassador to Oman Joselito Jimeno reported a recent announcement of Oman’s Minister of Health, Dr. Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Obaid al-Saidi, saying the Sultanate is facing a shortage of around 8,900 doctors and nurses by 2015.
Jimeno said nurses specializing in obstetrics, gynecology, anesthesiology, surgery (neurology and cardiology), intensive care and psychiatrics are highly needed in the Arab country.
Professional nurses in Oman receives an average basic salary of $703.79, based on the employment contracts that were processed by the POEA.
The report, furnished the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), said Oman’s Ministry of Health has announced that it would hire 3,288 doctors and nurses from other countries in response to this projected shortage.
Jimeno said some 4,464 doctors will be needed in Oman by 2015, but can only source 1,176 of them locally. For nurses, 5,598 will be hired abroad, he said.
To hire more medical professionals overseas, Oman increased its state budget for health by 9.4 percent for 2013, growing from OMR 500 million ($1.3 billion) to OMR 547 million ($1.4 billion).
He said the health budget accounts for 5 percent of the total state budget, which stands at OMR 12.9 billion ($33.5 billion).
Jimeno also said the government of Oman is stepping up the creation of more hospitals and clinics between 2011 and 2015 to reach out to people in the most remote areas.
There are around 15,868 OFWs in Oman, with 10,291 rehires and 5,577 new hires. Most of them are domestic helps, with related-household workers at 2,724, followed by professional nurses at 328.

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