The Ambulance Service at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) has made the necessary preparations for the upcoming Ramadan, including making some changes to respond to the expected demands of the holy month, Ali Darwish, assistant executive director of the Ambulance Service, said.
The official told local Arabic daily 'Arrayah' that these changes include modifying the shifts of the service and usual timings to suit the holy month. The peak hours of Ramadan are often a few hours before the Iftar and a few hours after midnight, he explained. Shifts are planned to ensure there is always staff on duty and ready to act immediately.
The beaches and popular places where people usually go for Iftar during the weekends in particular will continue to be covered, especially since the camping season has been extended until May 20. The service will cover these places, in particular Sealine, Dukhan, Al Gharyah, Semaisma and other areas on the outskirts of the country.
The official noted there are 105 ambulances to transport patients round the clock in addition to 11 other vehicles for quick intervention, five for transporting critical cases, and 48 vehicles working round the clock to transport patients to the outpatient clinics or to get dialysis and other services where patients cannot go by themselves. In all, the Ambulance Service has 169 vehicles in addition to two helicopter ambulances. There are special units of seven specially equipped trucks to handle accidents which have more than one patient.
Darwish said that the Ambulance Service vehicles are positioned in 79 spots across Qatar and these will not be changed during Ramadan. About 600-650 calls are received daily and the average response time does not exceed 10 minutes inside Doha and 15 minutes at the outskirts of the country.
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