New red ambulances in Dubai for critical patients

DUBAI // Ambulances in Dubai are to be colour coded according to what sort of patient they are carrying.

Patients in intensive care, whose lives are at risk, will be transported in red ambulances. Pink ambulances will be assigned to expectant mothers and dark green vehicles to patients who are morbidly obese.

Light green ambulances are for people with special needs, and blue vehicles will be assigned to general cases.

Essa Al Ghafari, deputy executive director of Dubai Corporation for Ambulance Services, said the new coloured vehicles would be easily identified by drivers, who could then make way for the emergency services.

Ambulance chiefs complained last week that car drivers were causing crashes and risking lives by refusing to give way to ambulances rushing to respond to emergency call-outs.

Nine emergency vehicles have been involved in accidents since National Ambulance launched its service in February, because motorists failed to pay proper attention or yield right of way.