The UAE needs more experienced medical staff as it seeks to dramatically expand its services, according to a survey from healthcare recruiter Your World.

More than 75% of the delegates at questioned by Your World the recent Abu Dhabi Medical Congress event agreed that in order to ease recruitment problems in the area, salaries must rise.

Neil Edwards, international business development manager at Your World, says: “The chief executive of the largest hospital in the UAE has already been quoted in the press as saying that there is a shortage in every single profession in healthcare.”

With a real shortage of healthcare professionals among the native UAE population, Edwards says that the Emirates will need to continue plugging gaps in experience from abroad. However, the UAE is currently competing with countries such as the US, UK and Australia which are also experiencing skills shortages and offering more attractive salary packages.