HMC reminds public to ‘save the ambulance service for medical emergencies’

HMC ambulance service

Last week, Qatar's public healthcare sector launched a joint national campaign aimed at educating the public on emergency and urgent healthcare services. The initiative, titled "Where For Your Care?" is a collaborative effort by the Ministry of Public Health (MOPH), Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC), Sidra Medicine, and Qatar Red Crescent (QRC). The campaign, scheduled to run until the end of February, focuses this week on highlighting the critical role of the Ambulance Service delivered by Hamad Medical Corporation. 

With Qatar’s population having recently grown to just over 3 million, ‘Where For Your Care?” aims to educate the public by highlighting that ambulances should be reserved for those facing a life-threatening medical emergency such as a stroke, heart attack, unconsciousness, seizure, choking or a severe allergic reaction. Reducing the number of 999 calls for non-life-threatening conditions will allow HMC’s Ambulance Service to continue to respond quickly and effectively to the most critical cases.

With over 295,000 emergency calls to 999 to request an ambulance in 2023, Abdulaziz Alyafei, Assistant Executive Director of Emergency Healthcare Coordination for HMC Ambulance Service said “there is an ever-increasing demand on the Ambulance Service and our ambulance teams are ready to respond rapidly to any patient with a life-threatening condition, 24 hours a day. By educating the public on the types of symptoms that require an ambulance, as well as highlighting other emergency and urgent care facilities for those with non-life-threatening conditions, this will allow everyone to access the most relevant care needed for their injury or symptoms.” 

Ali Darwish, Assistant Executive Director of Emergency and Scheduled Ambulance Service for HMC Ambulance Service emphasized the significance of the campaign, sharing that ‘the community of Qatar plays an integral part in supporting the Ambulance Service with its ability to reach those in need quickly.”

 “In medical emergencies, time is of the essence. With support from the community of Qatar to make the best choice for their level of healthcare needs, our paramedics can continue to reach casualties rapidly and deliver lifesaving care by reducing incoming calls for non-emergency cases. This campaign provides the public with the different options for medical care, and we hope this will have a positive reduction on the number of 999 calls to the Ambulance Service for non-life-threatening conditions.”