Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, opened the doors to a new world-class medical facility in Abu Dhabi for its employees. The complex includes an aviation clinic, employee visa medical centre, as well as an Emirates ID centre.
Located at Etihad Plaza in Khalifa City, the facility will allow the airline’s 23,800 UAE-based employees access to a modern, comfortable and exclusive environment near its head office complex.
Employee healthcare a priority
The new expanded aviation clinic is part of Etihad Airways’ strategic plan to consolidate its position as the foremost clinic of its kind in the region. Staffed by nearly 30 medical experts including 10 fully-qualified doctors, six dedicated examination rooms, nine medical consultation rooms and the latest medical devices for staff assessment, the clinic promises to deliver the best healthcare to Etihad Airways’ employees.
Dr Nadia Bastaki, Etihad Airways’ vice president medical services, said: “The new state-of-the-art aviation clinic demonstrates our enduring commitment to offer high standards of medical services to our people, including pilots and cabin crew. The clinic is regulated by Health Authority Abu Dhabi (HAAD) and the UAE General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), and is proudly recognised as one of the leading aeromedical facilities in the UAE.”
Visa screening services
Etihad Airways’ employees and their dependents will also have access to an onsite medical facility to support the visa application process. An agreement was signed in February 2015 with Ambulatory Healthcare Services – SEHA to operate the facility and provide visa medical services such as x-rays, blood tests and physical examinations.
Dr Mariam Buti Al Mazrouei, acting chief executive officer at Ambulatory Healthcare Services (AHS), said: “One of our key strategic objectives at SEHA and AHS is improving access to healthcare services, and the opening of the Etihad Airways visa screening centre is an example of how this objective can be achieved through cooperation with strategic partners across different sectors in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. The new centre brings the total number of Disease Prevention and Screening Centres, operated by AHS, to eleven, thus further cementing our position as the main provider of visa screening services in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.”
In addition, an onsite Emirates Identity Authority centre has been setup at the premises, offering nearly 200 members of staff the ease of having their Emirates ID services provisioned per day. The location significantly reduces waiting times and processing times of Emirates ID for employees and their dependents in the UAE. In the future there will be opportunities for Emiratis to develop a nursing career through a new initiative with Fatima College of Nursing, aimed at attracting Emirati nurses to develop their careers in the aviation sector.
The new facility follows the introduction last year of a staff ambulance service, travel clinic for those travelling for work purposes, several free fitness centres in Abu Dhabi, and a dedicated ‘Care by Etihad Airways’ welfare support service for the airline’s crew and pilots.