Establishing a Cardiac Electrophysiology Service in Abu Dhabi: Strategic Recruitment of an International Consultant

Executive Summary

Identifying the Service Gap

Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has a well developed public health service (SEHA) which provides integrated primary and secondary medical care with selected tertiary care from a group of modern hospitals and clinics in Abu Dhabi and its neighbouring emirate, Al Ain.

Cardiac disease remains one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in the UAE and high incidences of cardiovascular pathology alerted the attention of healthcare planners to the urgent need for subspecialist cardiology services to complement the existing general cardiology and cardiac surgery service.

A structured internal review identified:

• Increasing regional prevalence of complex cardiac arrhythmias
• Dependence on external referral centres for invasive EP procedures
• Limited local ablation capacity
• Growing device implantation demand (ICD, CRT, pacemakers)

Strategic objectives were defined as:

• Establishing a fully operational electrophysiology laboratory
• Performing diagnostic EP studies and complex ablations locally
• Building a sustainable arrhythmia management pathway
• Enhancing institutional tertiary referral status

This required the recruitment of an experienced consultant cardiologist capable of building an electrophysiology service.

Consultant Cardiologist Profile Defined

The specification for a suitable candidate for this role extended beyond the standard consultant clinical cardiology criteria and encompassed strategic leadership and administrative capabilities.

Clinical requirements:

• Independent operator status in diagnostic EP studies
• Radiofrequency and cryoablation experience
• Device therapy proficiency (ICD, CRT, lead management)
• Documented procedural volumes
• Experience in tertiary referral environments

Strategic and leadership competencies:

• Service design and protocol development
• Multidisciplinary coordination
• Teaching and mentorship capacity
• Clinical governance familiarity
• Equipment specification input



International Recruitment Strategy

The recruitment campaign was designed to target cardiologists with the requisite clinical skills and considerable experience both clinically and in leadership positions within a tertiary hospital. A candidate from Italy, Dr AS was sourced from a major tertiary hospital in Italy.

The recruitment pathway included:

1. Credential Assessment

• Qualification review, training verification
• Procedural logs and case volumes
• Scope-of-practice review
• Leadership achievements

2. Structured Clinical Interview

Conducted remotely as a first stage interview, the discussions focused on:

• Service design roadmap
• Equipment requirements (3D mapping systems, ablation platforms)
• Risk management protocols
• Complication escalation pathways
• Projected case mix evolution

3. Site Visit and Infrastructure Assessment

A formal visit to the hospital in Abu Dhabi, undertaken over a weekend enabled:

• Introductions to the clinical director and staff
• Evaluation of cath lab readiness
• Review of ICU and cardiac surgery backup
• Nursing and technical team assessment
• Administrative planning meetings

This stage ensured alignment between the candidate's expectations and the institutional capability and was followed by a job offer and subsequent on boarding procedures.



Professional Registration - MOH

All  physicians practising in Abu Dhabi must obtain licensure with the relevant medical regulatory authority, the Ministry of Health (MOH), and are credentialed for the appropriate licence category, in this case, Consultant Cardiologist.

The Data Flow Report, a primary source credential verification service, is used to confirm qualifications, licence and recent practice history as a first step followed by a credentials review by the MOH and approval of the proposed employment arrangement with the employer acting as sponsor to the licence.

A further privileging process is performed by the hospital management to define the candidate's scope of

practice.



Remuneration and Retention Framework

To secure the services of a senior European consultant, the hospital offered a competitive tax free expatriate package on a fixed term, renewable contract with executive level support for the service development and technology acquisition needed to implement the service. This included:

• Tax-free consultant salary ( experience dependent, SEHA official scales)
• Housing provision
• Annual travel benefits
• Six weeks annual leave
• Comprehensive medical coverage
• End-of-service benefits

Beyond compensation, retention considerations included:

• Defined scope of clinical practice
• Clear clinical autonomy
• Defined service development authority
• Administrative support
• Access to continuous professional development

Probation and Implementation Phase

New employees with SEHA hospitals have an initial three month probationary period during which either party can terminate the employment contract. Dr AS used this time to familiarise himself with the new healthcare system, get to know his colleagues and start the initial phase of the electrophysiology service.

He developed the clinical protocols which would form the framework of the emergent service, and ordered the appropriate technology. Initial EP cases were performed, referral pathways formalised and audit and KPI monitoring initiated.

Within the first phase of operation, the service achieved increased procedural volume and capability, increasing numbers of patients referred for management and an enhanced regional profile.

Conclusions

The recruitment of a European-trained Consultant Electrophysiologist enabled the successful establishment of a new tertiary electrophysiology service in Abu Dhabi, enhancing the portfolio of available medical services and reducing the frequency of overseas patient journeys for treatment.

This case illustrates that:

• international subspecialist recruitment, when combined with infrastructure investment, regulatory planning, and executive alignment can rapidly elevate institutional capability and reduce dependency on external referral centres.
• for healthcare organisations seeking to expand advanced subspecialty services, a structured, and strategically aligned recruitment approach is essential
• competitive financial remuneration packages and incentives are crucial to attracting high calibre physicians.