105 more Indian medics arrive in UAE
Team includes 75 new recruits and 30 VPS employees who were on leave in Kerala
A105-member team comprising of nurses, doctors, and paramedics landed at Abu Dhabi International Airport on a specially chartered Etihad aircraft yesterday.
An initiative of VPS Healthcare, the team will be working in the critical care units of various Covid-19 hospitals.
The team includes 75 new recruits and 30 employees of VPS Healthcare who were on leave in India. All of them are from Kerala. The team will undergo training at various hospitals under VPS Healthcare.
Their arrival was facilitated by the Indian Embassy and UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. Indian Ambassador to the UAE Pavan Kapoor said: “This is an excellent example of how our strategic partnership with the UAE is being implemented on the ground in the area of health care.”
Historic bus journey
The journey of the team was by itself a historic experience.
Assembling the team at Kochi airport for the flight to Abu Dhabi was a challenge, particularly as members were from almost all districts of Kerala.
The route of the bus and time of arrival at each pick-up point was informed in advance. Each nurse went to the nearest pickup point on their own.
The first bus started from Thiruvananthapuram at 10.30am on Saturday and picked up people from Kollam to reach Kochi in the evening. Similarly, there were buses from Pathanamthitta and Kottayam, and also from Kannur.
At Kochi, the team underwent a preliminary check-up followed by a Covid-19 test on Sunday. Each member was allotted a separate room in a hotel near the hospital. The results came out negative by Monday evening and the team left for Abu Dhabi early yesterday.