People in Bahrain have been urged not to hesitate to contact emergency services on 999, with authorities saying each call is taken seriously, no matter how insignificant it may seem.
The hotline is open to calls all day and trained agents are always on standby to deal with emergencies, said Interior Ministry’s head of the operations room Major Yaseen Ebrahim.
“We are here to help, no matter how big or small the problem,” he said in a podcast.
“Whether you need an ambulance, Civil Defence services, or just have an enquiry.”
Maj Ebrahim said that incidents will be prioritised according to the severity of the emergency, but that should not deter people from calling.
“We will prioritise medical emergencies, fire, or suicide attempts, for example, as that involves people’s lives at stake.
“That does not mean we will not take your emergency seriously.
“If there is a major emergency, please call us immediately so we can deal with the situation as soon as physically possible.”
Maj Ebrahim
He said the operations room occasionally received accidental calls, especially from curious children tinkering with their parent’s phone, and played down fears that people will be reprimanded for such calls.
“It’s not unusual to receive these kinds of calls,” he said.
“Children are curious, and have probably been told the number in case of emergencies, so they want to know what is on the other end of the line.
“We always talk to the children in a way they understand, and regardless of whether there is an emergency or not, we get their details and hear them out.
“In case there is an emergency, we will act accordingly.”
Maj Ebrahim added that even if adults accidentally call the centre, the best thing to do is to apologise.
“999 is a very simple number to dial, but that is the point, it is meant to be a quick connection in case of any problems.
“In case of a miss call, we will call you back, not to reprimand you, but because we want to make sure you are well and it was indeed just an accident.”
In case a child calls the hotline, whether by accident or through curiosity, Maj Ebrahim urged parents not to yell at them.
He said that the line is open to anyone in Bahrain, with responses available in several languages including Arabic, English, Urdu, French and Spanish.
He also pointed out that the centre’s employees are trained in sign language to provide assistance to people of determination, with three emergency phone lines introduced in 2019 for video calls: 39363999, 39373999 and 39383999.
The GDN reported in May that the General Directorate of Traffic had unveiled a new system in the operations room to shorten emergency response times.
The system assesses the geographical location of an emergency or incident, allowing the ministry to send teams closest to the area.
The system automatically registers the location from which an emergency phone call is made and notifies the patrol teams.
nader@gdnmedia.bh
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