HMC opens ambulance dispatch point at Madinat Khalifa

LANI ROSE R DIZON

DOHA THE Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) on Wednesday opened its first sheltered ambulance dispatch point at Madinat Khalifa as part of its new service model, the ‘Hubs and Spokes’ system, which is aimed at boosting the Ambulance Service’s ability to get to the scene of an emergency faster.

Addressing a press conference after the opening ceremony, HMC Director of Health Facility, Planning and Design Bernadette Farrell said that altogether, as many as 26 multiple dispatch points called ‘Spokes’ will be opened as temporary base stations for ambulance service vehicles across Qatar in the next two years.

Twenty-two more such buildings are expected to open this year, and the rest will be rolled out next year.

Connected to the National Command Centre through the Ministry of Interior’s tetraradio network, the new ambulance dispatch point also boasts of its own sustainable features. The building will be open 24 hours a day and runs fully on solar technology.

It will shelter two ambulance service vehicles, bringing ambulances closer to where the people are so they can get to them quicker.

HMC Ambulance Service Chief Operations Officer Brendon David Morris said, “Under the ‘Hubs and Spokes’ system, the ‘spokes’, like this newly opened facility at Madinat Khalifa, will work in conjunction with other existing Ambulance Service centres called ‘Hubs’ across the country.

All locations we’ve chosen are modelled using sophisticated computer modelling based on historical calls for help to the ambulance service. This location, near the Immigration interchange at Madinat Khalifa, was identified as a top priority location to have a spoke and it’s logical too. You can go to all four corners of Qatar from this point.” According to HMC Chief of Tertiary Care David Astley, all the sheltered ambulance dispatch points will be strategically placed where statistics have shown there are the highest incidence of accidents and largest pockets of the population.

He added, “One of the key measures for an Ambulance Service is response time and the HMC Ambulance Service’s aim is to have response times comparable to the best in the world. This is where the ‘Hub and Spoke’ model comes in.

Over the last 12 months, the response times for the Ambulance Service have improved by 27 percent, from 11 minutes to eight minutes within Doha city limits.” Speaking about the features of the dispatch point, HMC Ambulance Service Operations Manager Ali Saleh al Yafei said the new facility was designed as a temporary shelter which can be easily relocated in just one week, in order to keep up with the ongoing construction works in the country.

The new air-conditioned facility is also fully equipped with solar powered technologies including motion sensor lights, added Rashid Andaila, public relations manager for the HMC Ambulance Service.

Similarly, the ambulance vehicles also tap energy from the solar technology used by the building, Morris added. He said that the shelter for the ambulance outside also provides the opportunity for those ambulances to be connected by power cable on to the building.

During the event, which was attended by HMC Managing Director Dr Hanan al Kuwari, Andaila thanked staff of HMC, Ashgal, Kahraamaa and the Ministry of Municipality and Urban Planning for the successful opening of the first ‘spoke station’ in Qatar.

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