Motorcycle ambulance services, one of the kingdom’s latest medical innovations, will play a big role in cutting response time in emergency situations, especially in neighbourhoods with narrow alleyways, a top official has stated.
The First Responder Ambulance Motorcycle Service, officially launched towards the end of last month, comes as part of efforts to provide immediate help for people across Bahrain, especially in situations where every second counts.
National Ambulance Centre operations officer Captain Saeed Al Faihani highlighted the role the new service is expected to play in the coming years, such as reaching the victims of road accidents in a timely fashion as the paramedic heroes in leather are able to more easily manoeuvre through congested traffic.
“This will allow us to save as many lives as possible,” said Capt Al Faihani. “The Interior Ministry has provided the unit with the latest vehicles and technology to be able to do their jobs as swiftly and efficiently as possible.
“Since they can move through traffic much easier than a regular ambulance, they can get to their destination much quicker.
“A number of training programmes were set in order to ensure the first responders were in top shape and ready to respond to any sort of emergency.
“They have been trained on how to manoeuvre through traffic safely and swiftly in order to get to their destination, and are fully equipped with the necessary equipment to save lives.”
Paramedics are highly-trained health professionals. They are prepared to help people when they need care for traumatic injuries, heart issues, breathing difficulties and many other medical concerns. They may give life-saving treatment to stabilise conditions until the patient reaches a hospital.
The number of first responder riders has not been revealed but they are based in more than a dozen ambulance centres across the country including Salmaniya Medical Complex, the Bahrain Defence Force Hospital in Riffa and the King Hamad University Hospital in Muharraq to allow them to reach any accident location across the kingdom with relative ease.
The First Responder Ambulance Motorcycle Service was proposed and approved during the Government Innovation Competition (Fikra), launched by His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince and Prime Minister.
The procedures to reach the site of emergency consist of two main phases. The first stage involves deploying the closest first responder through the National Ambulance Centre Operations Room when calling the emergency hotline (999).
In the second stage, the response stage, immediate emergency services are provided at the scene.
First responders have been trained to deal with emergencies including cases of cardiac and respiratory arrest, accidents and injuries, all types of bleeding, convulsions, drowning, severe choking, fainting, low blood sugar and emergency childbirth.
Capt Al Faihani explained that whether the service will be dispatched to the scene or not is dependent on the emergency and each particular situation. “Once we receive a call, the operator calmly assesses the incident and decides if a respondent needs to be sent or not,” he said. “They will very likely be sent in cases of accidents, which normally cause heavy traffic jams, requiring swift manoeuvrability and instant response. Additionally, they will also prioritise locations with narrow streets and neighbourhoods in all governorates, especially in places like Muharraq.
“If necessary, an ambulance will be on standby and will be dispatched on request, or the ambulance will follow shortly after the first respondent reaches the scene of an incident.”
Capt Al Faihani assured that the service will be available in multiple languages in order to help as many people as possible. The operations centre is available in languages such as Arabic, English, Hindi and Tagalog. Additionally, translators are always on standby in case of emergency.
He also went on to praise the people and residents of Bahrain for always being willing to ‘lend a hand’ and urged them to continue to assist respondents whenever called upon.
nader@gdnmedia.bh
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