MADINAH, 6 September 2005 — The Saudi Red Crescent stands ready to tackle medical emergencies, but paramedics say that calls for non-emergency care and gawks who clog accident scenes made their jobs more difficult and threaten the lives of those in need. Now the Red Crescent wants to increase public awareness about how best to let it workers do their jobs, according to Al-Madinah newspaper.
One of the most important ways residents can help the Red Crescent is by giving detailed information when calling for help — and knowing when not to call for help.
“Sometimes we receive silly calls from people on cases that they think are emergencies — like someone calling us because of a toothache,” said Abdulraheem Kashkeri, manager of the Technical Department at the Madinah branch of Saudi Red Crescent. “The Red Crescent should only be called when there is a real emergency and serious injuries.”
Responding to traffic accidents is a major concern for the Red Crescent, and motorists who speed behind the ambulances do not help matters. Neither do crowds of onlookers who swarm crash scenes.
“Nothing is more difficult than trying to give first aid to victims where there are huge crowds gathered around the accident scene,” said paramedic Sultan Al-Amoudi. “Most of them are just curious and want to know what happened. This put extra pressure on us.”
Al-Amoudi says the crowds of onlookers can be deadly for the victims.
“One of the main obstacles we face are traffic jams that delay our arrival to the accident scene,” he said. “When we go to an accident scene, every second counts. Nothing is more frustrating than when we face a huge traffic jam, and we know that there is a victim who needs our help.”
Sometimes, motorists who want to help do more harm than good.
“The worst thing that we find when we arrive at an accident scene is to see people trying to give aid to victims,” said paramedic Saad Al-Ahmadi.
“It’s good to assist people in need, but they don’t know that they’re harming them more than helping them. Most victims involved in car accidents suffer from broken bones. People don’t realize they are making matters worse when they are trying to transfer them to hospitals. The only help people should provide is by calling the Fire Department and ambulances.”
Some people even have problems making a call. “People should call 997 to report an accident,” said paramedic Muhammad Al-Harbi. “What’s surprising is that many people don’t know the difference between the Saudi Red Crescent and Police Department phone numbers.”
Apparently, many motorists don’t understand what the siren is for, either.
“Drivers on the street should know that it’s important to clear the road or pull over to the side when they see an ambulance with the siren on behind them,” Al-Harbi said. “Ignorant drivers drive fast behind ambulance cars just to go through traffic, which increases the possibility of car accidents.” Saudi Red Crescent paramedics remain anxious to do their jobs — they just need people to allow them to do their jobs well.
