National Ambulance UAE
- Thread starter SCFLTMEDIC
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Do we have any update on Advanced Paramedic opportunities in Abu Dhabi? How to drop a cv with Abudhabi police ambulance service? Is it National Ambulance company still stands out best option 2017 in the UAE? Any comments on updated EMS job trends in the UAE would be a great help.......
Yes, they are going down. Only have basic contracts now. Majority of management who knew what they were doing have abandoned them. Robert Ball and Graham Stewart did a good job of running it in to the ground. Neither had ANY experience in Ambulance and it showed. Graham Stewart was an insurance salesman basically and a weekend cut lunch soldier. ... no real experience at all.
SandpitMedic
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Are they still around? Rob and Graham...
Sandpit Medic, a quick check of LinkedIn says Robert Ball is still there and Graham Stewart has moved on and it looks like he has gone back into the Army.
I have been watching this thread for a little while now and as someone who has actually worked for this organisation, its been pretty interesting watching some of the comments (mostly negative) and the comments about the leadership in particular.
I wouldn’t have their jobs for million dollars – it’s a very tough, uncertain and ever-changing business environment.
I can’t really comment on Robert Ball as I didn’t have too much to do with him, however; I was impressed with Graham Stewart; when I first arrived at the company he took the time to invite me into his office and ask me about myself, family and interests. He gave me a few pointers on life in the UAE and never hid the fact he wasn’t a Paramedic and that he was an “Operations Guy” first and foremost he relied on his experienced leadership group to provide him with advice.
Despite the uncertainty, complexity and challenges, I have heard that the company continues to deliver a reasonable BLS service in the North of country, which would be a pretty tough gig in that sort of environment.
Anyway, just my thoughts for what they are worth.
Be safe where ever you ride!
I have been watching this thread for a little while now and as someone who has actually worked for this organisation, its been pretty interesting watching some of the comments (mostly negative) and the comments about the leadership in particular.
I wouldn’t have their jobs for million dollars – it’s a very tough, uncertain and ever-changing business environment.
I can’t really comment on Robert Ball as I didn’t have too much to do with him, however; I was impressed with Graham Stewart; when I first arrived at the company he took the time to invite me into his office and ask me about myself, family and interests. He gave me a few pointers on life in the UAE and never hid the fact he wasn’t a Paramedic and that he was an “Operations Guy” first and foremost he relied on his experienced leadership group to provide him with advice.
Despite the uncertainty, complexity and challenges, I have heard that the company continues to deliver a reasonable BLS service in the North of country, which would be a pretty tough gig in that sort of environment.
Anyway, just my thoughts for what they are worth.
Be safe where ever you ride!
SandpitMedic
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I for one happen to agree with you. I've always maintained that it was a decent place to work, leadership was good enough, and it was a great experience.
Double tap on Mr. Graham... I had a similar experience with him. Nothing negative.
It sounds like NA is still around - some people have been waiting it’s demise for a while now....
But it still seems to be trucking along though and providing good levels of service in the north of the country.
SandpitMedic
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Yes, I still know a couple guys on the CICPA contract.
Horizon Ambulance
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I have a lot of experience in working in the Middle East as an EMT I'm totally open to any questions anyone may have and I have a list of people who are known to defraud American EMTs and paramedics and and of entrepreneurs Who start ambulance services and abandon their employees Waller steer clear that name
akflightmedic
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As in Allen Waller....the Brit? LOL!!!! BAH HA HA HAA
Horizon Ambulance
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Oh no... this seems interesting... Yikes and yp.. AJW
akflightmedic
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LOL....I got wrapped up/employed under one of his schemes back in 2010....he had quite the history then. Never paid me, scammed the heck out of me and darn near got me arrested in Kuwait. Months and months of legal threats...I stood up to his dumb *** and countered back until he finally went away. Eventually his first wife (not the Russian mail bride) that he scammed for a green card found me and shared a ton of very interesting info...seems he milked her and left her high and dry too! Finally he faded away out of my life, I hear about him every couple years or so. Last I heard he was running some scam in Cypress, but that would of been circa 2014 or so?
Did he get involved in the UAE ambo stuff too? He is such a smooth talker con man.
Did he get involved in the UAE ambo stuff too? He is such a smooth talker con man.
WailingBanshees
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I was one of the dispatchers brought in at the beginning of the whole thing, They said they were gonna bring us as dispatchers and then after 1 year we can start as EMTs on the road, Both CEO/DCEO promised that and that was the whole consensus, we were fresh graduates and inexperienced.
After the year has passed we were informed that that was no longer the case and we won't be able to do that, we had to be stuck with what we have since we had limited employment opps back home and they knew that.
Right now NA most people have left, from the upper management, CEO, batches of medics and dispatchers leaving, They lost the airport contract, and the CICPA will be over soon, they got an offer with warner though, the main thing that most contracts are switching to unlimited contracts which mean that if you try to leave on your own before 5 years has passed, you only get 1/3 of what you would get as gratuity.
This is just another case where they don't know how to manage an ambulance company, lots of corners cut, absolutely 0 focus on the staff themselves and their well being, unless you're western you're worth 0 to the company, Lots of emotional abuse throughout the duration of employment.
I personally had 0 issues with anyone from the beginning of the job to the end, more as an observer, as i know how to handle myself, and not to say people didn't have issues of their own, but after they moved us so far away where i had to pay almost a third of my salary just to get to HQ, that was it for me.
0 growth and lots of lies, and lots of racism in there, but the people you work with can be great friends, just lots of politics and stuff that's native to the gulf region isn't out of the picture here.
We all knew it won't last forever without some drastic changes, 0 focus on staff and 0 focus on quality of service just the money and the looks, no one cared if everyone in the room is sleep deprived and tired just pose well and clean up the desks for when the photographers arrive!
Not to mention the "extra" shifts that come out of nowhere.
Good riddance, i was out of there before all of this happened.
After the year has passed we were informed that that was no longer the case and we won't be able to do that, we had to be stuck with what we have since we had limited employment opps back home and they knew that.
Right now NA most people have left, from the upper management, CEO, batches of medics and dispatchers leaving, They lost the airport contract, and the CICPA will be over soon, they got an offer with warner though, the main thing that most contracts are switching to unlimited contracts which mean that if you try to leave on your own before 5 years has passed, you only get 1/3 of what you would get as gratuity.
This is just another case where they don't know how to manage an ambulance company, lots of corners cut, absolutely 0 focus on the staff themselves and their well being, unless you're western you're worth 0 to the company, Lots of emotional abuse throughout the duration of employment.
I personally had 0 issues with anyone from the beginning of the job to the end, more as an observer, as i know how to handle myself, and not to say people didn't have issues of their own, but after they moved us so far away where i had to pay almost a third of my salary just to get to HQ, that was it for me.
0 growth and lots of lies, and lots of racism in there, but the people you work with can be great friends, just lots of politics and stuff that's native to the gulf region isn't out of the picture here.
We all knew it won't last forever without some drastic changes, 0 focus on staff and 0 focus on quality of service just the money and the looks, no one cared if everyone in the room is sleep deprived and tired just pose well and clean up the desks for when the photographers arrive!
Not to mention the "extra" shifts that come out of nowhere.
Good riddance, i was out of there before all of this happened.
Wow - sounds like things have really gone down hill.
And the CEO gas left as well? So I wonder who is running the place now?
I had heard they had lost some major contracts and a lot of staff had left the company. Pretty much all the people I worked with are long gone.
There were some good people there, but there were some not so nice ones as well.
Do you think the company will close?
And the CEO gas left as well? So I wonder who is running the place now?
I had heard they had lost some major contracts and a lot of staff had left the company. Pretty much all the people I worked with are long gone.
There were some good people there, but there were some not so nice ones as well.
Do you think the company will close?
WailingBanshees
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Don't think it will close "for now" unless they become completely unprofitable, cut a lot of staff, but i think the northern emirates contract will stay in some shape or form.
Like when the company lost the ADEMS contract, they cut like 10-12 highly performing staff instead of one of the useless managers who get paid +70k/mo
"That's why the pay you the big bucks!" right?
There's a new chairman running the thing and checking and restructuring everything, the CEO is now al hajeri with the DCEO being the prior CMA.
I might have got them switched but that's the gist of it.
There were some really good people there when I was around, they must have all left by now.
The Supply Manager Miss Gaynor was tough but fair and Mr Graham always took time to say hello and seemed genuinely interested in people.
Its really quite a pity it’s turned out that way, it will be difficult if they lose CICPA.
The Supply Manager Miss Gaynor was tough but fair and Mr Graham always took time to say hello and seemed genuinely interested in people.
Its really quite a pity it’s turned out that way, it will be difficult if they lose CICPA.
WailingBanshees
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Losing CICPA is highly likely, lots of it to do with replacing good staff with worse staff by managers who didn't like them, which in turn made the officers deal with staff they're not familiar with, in the Arab world, this turns into people having negative thoughts and discussions about NA as a whole, which in turns make it less likely for them to renew.
That's what happened in the Yas Marina Circuit too.
As much as there's critique about graham i did like him a lot, he was very respectful and appreciative of people, Gaynor was as you described, lots of others who are very respectable and kind, Others, Not so much..
Hey ya'll
Been a long time since I read or even posted on here. Just wanted to give an update on NA that I hope at the very least will keep anyone interested up to date.
NA is still here. Despite knowledgeable opinions posted previously about certain loss of CICPA, Northern Emirates (NE) etc. NE, CICPA (the big two contracts) and another number of contracts are safe and have been renewed for between 2-3 years depending on contract. So from a business side its secure but as always the rumor mill will tell you other wise. Then again that's par for the course in this neck of the woods. Its true that its mainly a BLS service. A few ILS, ALS and Doctors are still working there.
Major changes have taken place across the company. The CMA (FC) is gone since Sept 16. The previous COO (GS) is gone since Mar 17. The previous CEO (RB) is gone since Aug 18. The CAO (WW) and CFO (CA) are still in place. The new CEO is (AAH) who was the previous DCEO. The new medical director was a doctor in the airport contract and the new COO (JC) was the D-Ops in NE. Dir Sup Chain (GA) and Dir of QHSE (DJ) have both left. Many EMTs, control room staff, EMTs, ILS, ALS, doctors, management and C levels have all come and gone. Some with good memories and others with not so good ones.
In reality its a sign of where we work more than who we work for. The UAE is a very transient place to work as a medic so people coming and going is just what happens here. I'd say if you stayed in most organisations out here for a few years you would see similar comings and going. You would hear supporters and those who would save you from "certain misery" and advise you not to join.
On a personal note, I don't disagree with most of the comments regarding poor leadership and cliques. Like everywhere else in the world there was some good leaders and some not so good. There were those who enjoyed cliques and those who didn't feel like they were a part of these cliques. Some good decisions and some poor ones. Overall its pretty similar to any place I have worked before. Some will say things are changing for the better. For me its early days post the C level, D level and manager changes. Time always tells us what way things pan out so Ill stick around and watch the story unfold.
For now at least from my side. My family is happy here. I like the job and get paid well compared to other places I have worked. No one will ever get along with every person they come across in a company and no one will ever like every decision made in a company. No one will ever fix the pros and cons of working for any specific company so I will leave that to other more passionate and learned colleagues to discuss and form opinions over.
For the near future, NA is open for business. They are recruiting across all levels. Fingers crossed it stays that way. If you didn't like NA and left then good for you and I hope you are happier in the new job wherever that may be. If you are interested and looking at NA then reach out to anyone of the 800 guys n girls working in it and ask some more questions. At the very least you will get some up to date information to base your decisions upon. Maybe you'll decide to come over, maybe not. Either way I hope the above keeps you updated with what I hoped to be a balanced and open update.
Keep fightin the good fight y'all
Been a long time since I read or even posted on here. Just wanted to give an update on NA that I hope at the very least will keep anyone interested up to date.
NA is still here. Despite knowledgeable opinions posted previously about certain loss of CICPA, Northern Emirates (NE) etc. NE, CICPA (the big two contracts) and another number of contracts are safe and have been renewed for between 2-3 years depending on contract. So from a business side its secure but as always the rumor mill will tell you other wise. Then again that's par for the course in this neck of the woods. Its true that its mainly a BLS service. A few ILS, ALS and Doctors are still working there.
Major changes have taken place across the company. The CMA (FC) is gone since Sept 16. The previous COO (GS) is gone since Mar 17. The previous CEO (RB) is gone since Aug 18. The CAO (WW) and CFO (CA) are still in place. The new CEO is (AAH) who was the previous DCEO. The new medical director was a doctor in the airport contract and the new COO (JC) was the D-Ops in NE. Dir Sup Chain (GA) and Dir of QHSE (DJ) have both left. Many EMTs, control room staff, EMTs, ILS, ALS, doctors, management and C levels have all come and gone. Some with good memories and others with not so good ones.
In reality its a sign of where we work more than who we work for. The UAE is a very transient place to work as a medic so people coming and going is just what happens here. I'd say if you stayed in most organisations out here for a few years you would see similar comings and going. You would hear supporters and those who would save you from "certain misery" and advise you not to join.
On a personal note, I don't disagree with most of the comments regarding poor leadership and cliques. Like everywhere else in the world there was some good leaders and some not so good. There were those who enjoyed cliques and those who didn't feel like they were a part of these cliques. Some good decisions and some poor ones. Overall its pretty similar to any place I have worked before. Some will say things are changing for the better. For me its early days post the C level, D level and manager changes. Time always tells us what way things pan out so Ill stick around and watch the story unfold.
For now at least from my side. My family is happy here. I like the job and get paid well compared to other places I have worked. No one will ever get along with every person they come across in a company and no one will ever like every decision made in a company. No one will ever fix the pros and cons of working for any specific company so I will leave that to other more passionate and learned colleagues to discuss and form opinions over.
For the near future, NA is open for business. They are recruiting across all levels. Fingers crossed it stays that way. If you didn't like NA and left then good for you and I hope you are happier in the new job wherever that may be. If you are interested and looking at NA then reach out to anyone of the 800 guys n girls working in it and ask some more questions. At the very least you will get some up to date information to base your decisions upon. Maybe you'll decide to come over, maybe not. Either way I hope the above keeps you updated with what I hoped to be a balanced and open update.
Keep fightin the good fight y'all