“Local doctors are the asset,” said Dr Maysoon al Karam, the head of post-graduate education for HAAD.

“They are the people who will stay here and serve this country. It is healthy to have different nationalities here, but that does not negate the fact we need to move forward.

“We need specialties. We need to be self-sufficient.”

The initiative will occur in three phases starting with more training programmes in areas such as general surgery, internal medicine and paediatrics – all in their infancy at Al Ain Hospital, Sheikh Khalifa Medical Centre (SKMC) and Al Masraq – that will be unified under a single banner, says Dr Karam. At the moment they are all working independently.

The second phase will be to lift the standard of healthcare to international levels through the introduction of new facilities, training and management structures. Ultimately, HAAD will oversee the formation of a sovereign medical board that will, in part, oversee training and reduce the profession’s dependence on authorities abroad.

HAAD is striving for a 10 per cent increase in the number of resident Emirati doctors in the next two years, 20 per cent in four years and up to 30 per cent in five years.

The Dubai Health Authority (DHA) is also expanding its training programmes to produce the next generation of doctors.

Under the leadership of Dr Mutairu Ezimokhai, the head of post-graduate education for the DHA, several hospitals, such as Dubai Hospital, Al Maktoum Hospital and Rashid Hospital, are offering training in similar specialities.

Dr Ezimokhai said there were 230 doctors training in speciality programmes in Dubai. Enrolment had risen considerably in the past year, with 70 trainees entering first-year training.

“The programmes are all in early stages of development,” he said.

Abu Dhabi and Dubai are the only emirates with structured specialised training. HAAD and the DHA work independently, but this might change, said Dr Karam. While no formal discussions had taken place, she hoped to discuss the possibility of merging their programmes to create a national unified medical board.

“We haven’t communicated directly with them,” she said. “We are both on the beginning of the long journey. We are first developing our internal plans. But I am looking forward to achieving that.”

Dr Ezimokhai echoed her sentiments: “I think it is a good idea and we need to push it,” he said. “We hope this can happen. This is going to happen, in my opinion.”

Dr Karam said a UAE medical board would allow authorities to create the country’s own standards and provide more opportunities for local doctors.

Presently, local students can attend one of four medical schools – UAE University in Al Ain, Dubai College, Sharjah University and Ajman College. Students attend medical school for seven years, followed by a one-year internship. A doctor wishing to specialise will then invest an additional four to seven years, depending on the discipline.

Dr Naser Ameri, a first-year general surgery resident from Abu Dhabi at the SKMC, approved of the plan to develop local training. He was in the first year of an informal relationship between the SKMC and Al Ain hospital and said it was becoming increasingly difficult to find a placement in programmes overseas. “I applied but I can’t even get an interview,” he said. “The universities are not accepting any students overseas. They want to accept doctors who will stay after the programme and work there.”

He said there was a shortage in the UAE of local doctors in every field and providing Emiratis with more opportunities at home was important. “But each hospital has its own programme,” he said. “I think it weakens the programme. We need to unite them.”

Dr Ameri said the recent association between SKMC and Al Ain hospital was encouraging. Unification of training programmes meant that as a surgeon he would be exposed to a greater variety of cases and environments.

Dr Ali al Suwaidi, an orthopaedic surgeon at SKMC from Ras al Khaimah, said overseas training placed great stress on young doctors. He had recently completed 18 years of training overseas, spending 12 years at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and six years in Canada, travelling between Toronto, Ottawa and Vancouver for his specialist training. He says his overseas education, while of a high quality, was expensive and put great strains on his personal life.

“I am a local, but I need to train. I don’t want to leave my country for 18 years,” he said. “Resident programmes will help build healthcare in this country and build it for the long term. It is not just about the service. It’s about training.”

Dr Suwaidi, a specialist in shoulder surgery, is one of eight orthopaedic surgeons at the SKMC and the only local at the hospital in his field. He believes Emirati doctors are essential to the future of hospitals in the UAE. “What is the benefit of having local doctors here? It’s for the patient. Someone who knows the language and customs is very important.”