RIYADH, 9 January — The Saudi Red Crescent Society will press into service 240 ambulances and 500 emergency doctors during the upcoming Haj. A 70-man special service center staffed by highly trained medical personnel using sophisticated life-support system will operate in the Haram area.
It will also set up 71 fixed service centers, of which 18 will be in Arafat, eight in Muzdalifah, 30 in Mina and 15 in Makkah. Besides, there will be a large support center equipped with 70 ambulances.
Another feature of the traffic-control system will be the deployment of six mobile teams on the Jamarat bridge. Equipped with walkie-talkie sets, they will direct the pilgrims' movement in Jamarat, the three columns where the symbolic pelting of the devil takes place, according to Dr. Mowaffag Al-Bayouk, director of Emergency Medical Services at Saudi Arabian Red Crescent Society.
He was speaking to Arab News on the occasion of a four-day "Emergency preparedness and response planning workshop" which opened here yesterday.
The workshop is being organized in collaboration with InterWorks, a Madison-based firm that specializes in disaster management. Earlier, Jeffrey S.Klenk, the US firm's consultant, and Dr. Clair K. Blong of Federal Emergency Management Agency, said the objective of the workshop was to bring the various agencies together in the task of disaster management and explore ways of responding to emergency situations during Haj or at other times.
The participants will study various aspects of disaster management, including analysis for emergency planning, multi-hazard response planning (with practical applications) and hazard-specific response planning.
Some 12 government agencies from all over the Kingdom, including civil defense, National Guard and other military personnel, as well as King Khaled University Hospital are participating in the workshop, which consists of lectures and demonstrations.
Referring to the arrangements for Haj, Dr. Mowaffag said the Saudi Red Crescent was making elaborate arrangements. Next week there will be a disaster drill during which they will simulate an earthquake to provide hands-on experience to the trainees on dealing with such emergencies.
It was also announced that the Saudi Red Crescent will open around 20 temporary centers in the Kingdom's border areas and at all entry points leading to the Makkah region. Several mobile squads operating on a 24-hour basis will be deployed on five major highways leading to Makkah.
They will be connected to the base by radio to relay the latest traffic situation along the routes. This would enable the Red Crescent personnel to cut down the response time in dealing with emergencies.
Besides the mobile teams, Dr. Al-Mowaffag said a group of volunteers will also assist the Red Crescent during its Haj operations. They will consist of physicians, nurses and medical technicians as well as technical personnel with experience in the field of vehicle maintenance, he added.
