Dispatch centres to streamline Ambulance Services response

By Noimot Olayiwola/Staff ReporterTo further reduce its response time and to bring its services  closer to patients in need of emergency care, the Hamad Medical Corporation yesterday launched a first of its kind self-contained sheltered ambulance dispatch point at Madinat Khalifa as part of its hub-and-spoke model.An additional five such dispatch points are being planned at different locations in the country with a target of 25 such centres in two years.The self-contained and air-conditioned points where ambulances will be based during their shift, are being planned in preparation for the fast approaching summer during which staying outdoors is often not advisable. The shelters are also being envisaged as the most appropriate for use in isolated and desert areas, especially in the northern parts of the country.The Ambulance Service has been using the hub-and-spoke model for some time now whereby ambulances are stationed in a hub for immediate dispatch to spokes nearest to an emergency venue.“We are today opening the first self-contained shelter for the ambulances to support the hub and spoke model. In the model, the ambulances are just being parked outside without shelter. This building now represent the actual facility to replace the hubs,” Ambulance Service chief operations officer Brendon David Morris said at a press conference yesterday.According to him, two ambulances will be stationed at the shelter with one in constant operation and the other on standby.”We have approval for additional five shelters and we are going to have those, exactly the same as this one, in very short order say within some months,” Morris said.He explained that the launch of the shelter has been timed to coincide with summer months. “It will be too hot for the ambulance to remain stationed in the open and it will also be difficult to continue to operate the hub and spoke model during the hotter months and that is why it is so important to have as many of these facilities as soon as possible,”he maintained.Four staff members will be present at the dispatch centre daily and they will move between the hub and the spokes, he said.Under the new model, there will be multiple dispatch points, like the one in Madinat Khalifa, around Qatar which will work in conjunction with other existing Ambulance Service centres across the country and strengthen the existing capabilities to deal with emergencies.The official mentioned that the building is directly connected to the National Command Centre (NCC) through the Ministry of Interior’s telephone radio network which is a secured radio network only for emergency services to ensure that staff in the structure do not depend, in any way, on a regular telephone network, so that ambulances are dispatched immediately to the accident scenes by the NCC, based on the emergency response time.Over the last 12 months, the response times for the Ambulance Service have improved by 27%, from 11 minutes to eight minutes within Doha city limits.”The shelter also provides the opportunity for the ambulance to be connected to a power cable so that they can continuously be charging and also to ensure that the additional batteries are charging and enable the apparatus inside the vehicles to remain working when the vehicle is switched off,” Morris mentioned. “All the locations are modelled using the computer modeling based on historical calls for help to the ambulances and these locations were identified as top priority areas to have a hub and spoke facility,” Morris stated.According to the HMC Health Facility Planning and Design director Bernadette Farrell, the shelter is a make-shift portacabin, comprising six moveable parts that could be fixed together within five-seven days.“The building looks really solid but it is not a permanent structure as we are envisaging that in the near future…especially with the expected increase in population and the upcoming metro service, there could be the need to shift this point to another area, which is why it has been designed with flexibility and easy to transport parts,” she explained.She stated further that the structure is a smart building that is self-sustained and unique because it is energy self-efficient as some 20 solar panels  have been fitted on its top in order to store power in back up batteries for its electricity that can uninterruptedly work for two days.The efficiency and smartness of the shelter, which will serve as a prototype for other points, is expected to give more ideas for further sustainable improvements and more efficiency for upcoming shelters, Farrell claimed.HMC Tertiary Care chief David Astley said the new points will be strategically placed where statistics have shown to have the highest incidence of accidents and largest pockets of the population. “The Ambulance Service has been working to enhance the service they provide and ensure they are offering the best possible care to the people of Qatar. One of the key measures for an Ambulance Service is response times and the HMC Ambulance Service’s aim is to have response times comparable to the best services in the world. This is where the hub and spoke model comes in,” he said.QOC-QCS deal boost for cancer awarenessThe Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) and the Qatar Cancer Society (QCS) yesterday signed a partnership agreement to boost preventive measures against cancer  at the QOC headquarters. The agreement was signed by QOC Secretary General Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman al-Thani and QCS chairman Dr Sheikh Khalid bin Jabor al- Thani. The secretary general said QOC participation and support for the QCS was based on its profound belief in the significant role played by QCS to control the diseases through awareness campaigns, early detection methods and the preventive measures. “The QCS objectives are in compliance with the QOC goals in terms of encouraging the community members to practise sport exercises as a preventive tool against cancer,” he reiterated.Dr Sheikh Khalid appreciated the partnership which will  hold joint awareness campaigns targeting the community, especially youngsters. QOC will facilitate QCS missions hold workshops, lectures and meetings at QOC institutions. Similarly,  QCS will arrange regular awareness messages about the risks of cancer and the preventive measures to be taken  on  QOC social media sites.QOC and QCS officials announcing the partnership.