Under the directives of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, Lt. General HH Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, inauguratedthe National Ambulance Project on Monday. It is a project that covers all northern emirates through 8 main locations and 22 sub-locations.
At the Abu Dhabi Police General Headquarters, His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, alongside the qualified staff members, viewed the medical equipment being used. Sheikh Saif also viewed the ambulances that are furnished with out-of-hospital life support equipment, which will be sent to their assigned geographical locations to serve the people 24/7, and respond quickly to their needs.
Sheikh Saif called upon the project organizers to make the best efforts to meet the needs of the public and minimize response times in order to save lives, saying: “Saving the lives of people is anon-negotiable, sacred duty.”
Sheikh Saif added: “The president of the UAE is very keen to provide all the requirements in order to provide ambulance services to all regions of the country based on international standards, and deliver these services with speed and efficiency.”
Sheikh Saif stated: “His Highness, the President of UAE and the leader of this journey, had asked me to verify a complaint he had received from one citizen last year, saying that ambulance services take too long to arrive to remote areas of the country, due to geographical distances. Then Sheikh Khalifa gave orders to provide the budget required to solve this problem and take the necessary measures as soon as possible. Thanks to such noble directives, and the follow-up made by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, the UAE signed a contract with Harvard University to establish an emergency academy to train local staff members, in order to enable doctors to carry out these tasks once they have graduated from the academy and provide them with the necessary skills to accomplish their duties.”
Sheikh Saif urged the public to rate the new service via the ministry’s website and send feedback in this regard in order for the ministry to be able to make the necessary updates and improvements.
For his part, Lt. Colonel Al Ameri praised the great support received by the company from the higher leadership. He said: “We are keen to provide the best, most advanced ambulance services, in line with the strategic goals and the UAE plan 2020.”
Al Ameri added: “The services will cover the northern emirates –Sharjah,