Ashraf AboArafe
The Red Crescent Authority in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia continues its intensive preparations to serve the pilgrims during the current Hajj season. To provide them with comfort while performing their rituals, and by virtue of the authority’s responsibilities in providing emergency medical services in the Kingdom and for being one of the most prominent systems of government agencies participating in the annual Hajj season; It has endeavored to work diligently to provide emergency services, distinguish the service and its quality, and communicate with the relevant authorities to contribute to enhancing the safety of pilgrims from their arrival at the homeland until their safe departure to their country after completing their Hajj.
In this context, the medical repatriation of the authority in the Makkah region completed the first launch of the emergency service provided by the authority, represented by its ground and air teams, allocating 151 people from the deportees, recipients of communications and doctors, who are qualified scientifically and practically.
11 coordinators from the authority’s employees are distributed with the relevant authorities (Civil Defense – Public Security and Unified 911) to facilitate the tasks of the emergency teams with other sectors and joint cooperation in order to quickly reach the injured and cooperate in facilitating transit procedures to contribute to saving time and effort by transporting the injured to the nearest medical service provider The authority has also developed the technical side in the operating room to achieve the highest rate of response speed, and they work in 3 periods over 24 hours a day.
The notification about the injured goes through two stages; The first is administrative to document the caller’s information, accurately determine the location, and pass the report to the other medical stage on the type of case, the number of injuries and the disease history, and the second, during which the communication is relayed through the operations program to the relay of the emergency centers to send the closest team to the location of the injured and follow-up by the followers of the emergency teams to reach the injured through the fastest possible way to submit Emergency ambulance service for pilgrims, and employees have been assigned to follow up the communication to coordinate between the emergency teams and the injured.
It is worth mentioning that the twinning of work between the medical repatriation of Hajj and air ambulance operations in a common room facilitates quick access to the injured and follow-up of his health condition in the medical centers. Domain supervisors in Mina, Muzdalifah, Arafat and the Holy Capital have the powers to request air ambulance for emergency cases.
