Ramadan 2022 in UAE: Doctor had to delay Iftar by 2 hours to attend to emergencies

For doctors in the UAE, their patients come first, even sometimes ahead of their family and religious obligations.

During the holy month of Ramadan, many doctors in the UAE are busy performing their professional duties when they should be with their families during Suhoor and Iftar.

Dr Mohamed Sobhy, a Specialist at the Center for Surgery, Thumbay University Hospital, is no exception. The precious moments of Suhoor and Iftar that we love to spend with our families, Dr Sobhy spends some of those times treating patients and performing surgeries in line with his professional duties.

In addition to performing his regular six-hour duty, Dr Sobhy, who hails from Egypt, has been on a call 24x7 for emergencies and to conduct surgeries.

More importantly, he has to some time delay breaking his fast even up to two hours when he is performing surgery, reflecting the commitment and challenges of healthcare professionals.

“I work for six hours on a stretch daily, besides being 24X7 on call for emergencies and surgery. I often get the opportunity to break the fast in non-duty hours, but there are also days when I have patients waiting for me, and I have to break the while attending to them,” says the Egyptian doctor.

During the holy month of Ramadan, adult and healthy Muslims are obligated fast from dawn to dusk – which comes to an average of 14 hours of fasting in the UAE.

Delaying Iftar by 2 hours

In the first week of this Ramadan, Dr Sobhy revealed that he’s managed to take some time out from his professional duties to perform religious obligations and got some time to break the fast during non-duty hours.

But there are instances when Dr Sobhy, working with Thumbay Group for 15 years, delays breaking his fast for two hours while performing surgeries.

“If few patients are waiting, I first attend to them and break the fast later. Or, I hurry up in my religious obligations and look after the patients. There are days when Iftar is delayed for two hours, but a successful surgery and attending to all the needs of the patients keep us going,” adds Dr Sobhy.

-waheedabbas@khaleejtimes.com