Directory of Services
Ambulance & Emergency Medical Services
MISSION
The goal of the department is to improve the health and well-being of the community through the delivery of high quality ambulance services. More specifically, it is to prepare the community to respond competently to sudden illness or injury and to reduce the level of preventable mortality, injuries, and pain through the efficient and effective delivery of acute and non-acute ambulance services.
Overall, the department strives to set a new standard for pre-hospital care in the kingdom by delivering the best advanced life support treatment and state-of-the-art transport capability for all Saad Specialist Hospital patients while treating patients in a spacious, comfortable, and safe environment.
SCOPE OF SERVICE
The Saad Specialist Hospital Ambulance and Emergency Medical Service utilizes mobile intensive care ambulances, which are able to provide critical care transport for all age groups. The service has been accredited by the Joint Commission International (JCI) in recognition of the high quality of international standards provided for both emergency and non-emergency transport.
The department’s capabilities include:
- Emergency response.
- Pre-hospital care.
- Specialized health transport services (no distance limit).
- Inter-hospital transfers.
- Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) transport for critically ill infants.
The department also undertakes the co-ordination of planning for mass casualty incidents and disasters. It also enters into commercial industry contracts and undertakes the training and education of healthcare professionals in conjunction with the Saad Training Institute.
Staff are qualified from Basic Life Support through to Advanced Life Support and are supported by emergency medicine specialists and consultants. The department is capable of providing transfers for pediatric patients, cardiac patients, trauma victims, and neonates. The Critical Care teams are always ready for long distance transfers.
FUTURE SERVICES
Plans are underway to establish a regional trauma service with the required support facilities, including an expanded Intensive Care Unit and an Emergency pre-hospital program with full paramedic capability.
In addition, an Emergency Medical Dispatch Center is planned. Such a service is necessary because matching patient needs with the resources of the Ambulance and Emergency Medical Service depends on obtaining the necessary patient needs and conditions through thorough screening. The planned center will process incoming calls for emergency medical assistance and dispatch appropriate responses. It will also give appropriate pre-arrival medical instruction to callers.
Two further important initiatives are planned. The first is the development of a fully functional air ambulance capability. The second is a Critical Care Paramedic Training School (College of Pre-Hospital Care), which will help Saad Specialist Hospital become a true center of excellence for Ambulance and Emergency Service provision.