Northern Emirates residents praise ambulance crew for saving lives

With the National Ambulance:

- National Ambulance project provides better services to Northern Emirates

- National Ambulance call handlers trained for stressful situations

- Northern Emirates residents praise ambulance crew for saving lives

- Paramedics in action in the Northern Emirates - in pictures

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ABU DHABI // A year ago an expanded network of ambulance services began operating in the Northern Emirates with the aim of providing better, faster and round-the-clock coverage to every resident, even those in the most remote locations.

Since Sheikh Saif bin Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, announced the National Ambulance project last February, the service has dispatched its fleet of 24 Mercedes ambulances more than 30,600 times with its 180 paramedics treating more than 33,500 patients across Ras Al Khaimah, Umm Al Quwain, Ajman, Sharjah and Fujairah.

“That the service has been operated around the clock without interruption is testament to our staff who have demonstrated extraordinary levels of care and compassion on daily basis,” said Mohamed Ibrahim Al Ameri, the chairman of the National Ambulance board of directors.

“We thank the staff of National Ambulance for all their hard work.

“Through their dedication and commitment to serve the communities across the Northern Emirates, we will continue to deliver high quality ambulance services and constantly improve the care we deliver to the communities we serve.”

In its first year of operations the team from National Ambulance received 31,786 calls. Emergency medical technicians (EMTs) conducted 420 cases of CPR and delivered 12 babies, rescuing five more.

The fleet of ambulances have travelled more than one million kilometres.

“We are honoured to carry out the directions of our leadership to improve the lives of those they serve,” said Ahmed Saleh Al Hajeri, deputy chief executive of National Ambulance.

“The service has been welcomed by the citizens and residents of the Northern Emirates who have regularly provided positive feedback to us.

“We take real pride in the accomplishments we are celebrating today, and we can be confident in our abilities to consistently deliver.”

The achievements of the National Ambulance and its staff would not have been possible without the close liaison and support from the Civil Defence and the Ministry of Interior in each of the Emirates, he said.

“Over the past year there have been many occasions where this close cooperation has saved lives,” he said.

National Ambulance is looking to build its service further.

In January, Sheikh Humaid bin Rashid, Ruler of Ajman, allocated a plot of land for a dedicated National Ambulance building in the emirate.

Andy Gummer, area manager for the Sharjah response team, said more and more residents in the Northern Emirates now have trust in the local ambulance service.

While people in the past tended to only call for help in the event of a road traffic accident, other residents now phone 999 instead of driving a family member to hospital like before, said Mr Gummer, a New Zealander.

“Now there is more understanding we are there for any emergency,” he said. “We are more visible now and we are more immersed in the culture so they are more aware.”

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About this story:

February last year, Sheikh Saif bin Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior announced the National Ambulance project. Since then the Northern Emirates has seen massive improvements in services in spite of dense traffic and the lack of a proper addressing system.

Call handlers are the first point of contact: their jobs are to glean vital information so that an emergency medical technician response can be sent as quickly as possible. They are also trained to remain calm in stressful situations and to keep callers from panicking.

The expanded network has meant that response times for the majority of incidents now fall under the eight-minute-mark — meaning the National Ambulance are performing in line with international standards.