Dubai Court Orders Hold of Hospital Equipment to Settle Unpaid Salaries and Debts

A court in Dubai ordered the sequestration of medical equipment from a health facility in the city to pay off creditors and settle doctors’ and staff members’ unpaid salaries. The action comes after a court-led inspection in March, where an executor compiled a list of the clinic’s assets, including high-tech diagnostic equipment and basic medical instruments.

The items confiscated range from high-end equipment to X-ray machines and automated analysers to bronchoscopy equipment to basic essentials such as patient beds, infusion pumps, and blood pressure monitors. Among the most valuable assets seized was a catheterisation cardiac system that cost Dh1.7 million that might help to cover the unpaid salaries.

The enforcement action came after the facility had failed to clear its financial obligations, meaning staff and creditors went unpaid for months. The efforts to resolve the matter were unsuccessful, meaning that the debts created by the hospital remained significant, prompting the court to seize the assets in a bid to recover the amounts owed.

The ruling was greeted with mixed reactions from the hospital’s employees. Many, including some former doctors and nurses, welcomed the move-they had gone for more than three months without pay. “For too long, the hospital failed us,” said a former physician. Added a nurse, “It’s bittersweet-this is the end of the workplace, but also a chance to finally receive the compensation we deserve.”

This case continues to highlight some of the persistent problems of healthcare workers and the need to hold employers responsible for financial commitments.