Health Ministry Readies Contingency Plan for Hajj
The Ministry of Health has called on Saudi doctors who are not working during the Hajj season this year to register with the Ministry and contribute in humanitarian efforts to help the pilgrims, a senior ministry official said here yesterday.
Dr. Redha Khaleel, adviser and head of the Hajj Preparation Committee at the Ministry, said that, out of necessity, the Ministry is recruiting only 50 doctors and 100 nurses for ER purposes from abroad during this year’s Hajj.
�Local doctors who are not working during Hajj are welcome to participate,� he said, adding that medical personnel would be mainly required to work in ER.
Announcing the Ministry’s plans this year for Hajj, the official said that Mount Arafat Hospital would be renovated at a cost of SR22 million. The improvements would increase the hospital’s bed capacity to 250, according to a report published today by Arab News.
The official noted that 9,600 medical officials - including doctors, nurses, field workers and inspectors - would work during this year’s Haj and 86 health centers would operate in Arafat, Muzdalifa and Mina to serve sick pilgrims of all nationalities. Seven local hospitals in areas close by have been designated to take serious cases that require advanced medical attention.
Twenty large ambulances will be added to the Ministry’s fleet this year bringing the total number of ambulances operating during the pilgrimage to 96. The ambulances will be used to transfer sick pilgrims to health centers and hospitals.
�This year we are also increasing the number of small ambulances to work their way through crowded areas and pedestrian zones� Each of these ambulances will have a doctor and a nurse, and their aim is to treat cases on the spot,� said Khaleel.
The official said that the Ministry had completed preparing its emergency plan along with other ministries participating in the Hajj operation. The plan includes methods of dealing with virus outbreaks, emergency evacuation, contingency plans, among others.
Foreign pilgrims will be required to take certain vaccinations before entering the Kingdom. Khaleel said that the medical requirements have been publicized at all Saudi consulates and embassies abroad.
�Every year, the Ministry studies the types of diseases prevalent in the countries where the majority of pilgrims come from based on statistics released by the World Health Organization. Accordingly, vaccines are made available before Hajj,� said Khaleel.
He said that pilgrims entering the Kingdom would be checked to ensure they have taken relevant vaccinations. Those who have not taken vaccines in their home country will be vaccinated at entry points, he noted..