The referral project launched by the Ministry of Health will now be merged with the Emergency Department to speed up referral and treatment services with due care and quality.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the ministry's executive bureau held in Riyadh on Thursday under the chairmanship of Health Minister Abdullah Al-Rabeeah.

Chairing the meeting, Al-Rabeeah appreciated ongoing programs such as quality health care, safety of patients, supply of quality medicines and the “patient first” approach, which was introduced in the Kingdom last year.

The executive bureau lauded the efforts of Khalid Al-Hussain, supervisor of the referral project.

The minister lauded the efforts of those involved in the “937” and “referral” programs, affirming that the ministry is strenuously working to improve the quality of services provided to patients.

The call center is a 24-hour phone-in service through the toll free number 937, offered by the Ministry of Health (MoH) for people to contact the ministry through their land line, mobile or emergency phones.

Following the commissioning of the service, Al-Rabeeah said that this is a pilot project, where 18 trained officials would assist callers to solve their instant health problems by providing information. He said health officials will work on three shifts on the lines of similar centers in the United States and Canada.

He said the ministry would be happy to receive suggestions about the progress of the call center from health officials, medical specialists and journalists to enhance its services for the benefit of the people.

He said the program was being implemented in line with the vision of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah and Crown Prince Salman, deputy premier and minister of defense, who are keen on placing the patients first in the health care services offered by the Kingdom.

The center is equipped with state-of-the-art communications system and a hotline to the Ministry of Interior, as well as leading edge technology in audiovisual communication. There is also a section to receive calls, a follow-up division and a division for medical services and telegrams, a section for archives and statistics, operating rooms and crisis management.

It is open around the clock for complaints, which will be redirected to the various departments at the ministry for further action. The center can conduct statistical surveys and analyze them to assess any current situation of the medical services in various areas and governorates for the purpose of upgrading services and including them in the ministry's development plans.

Tariq Al-Arnoos, head of the Emergency Department at the ministry, said the center will operate the year round and will not be closed during Eid or Haj holidays. The center is manned by a team of elite trained and qualified doctors and paramedics who are specialized in emergency services.

MoH spokesman Khalid Mirghalani indicated that the call center is deemed an attentive ear to patients willing to record their urgent demands. It works to meet patients’ urgent needs in accordance with standards and patients’ medical needs to carry out their demands and requirements without delay.

He added that the center would analyze all incoming urgent patients’ reports and would work hard to improve work performance within the MoH's strategy in line with the “patient first” approach.

The spokesman said that the center’s services involve receiving and recording patients’ urgent reports and working quickly to accomplish them, following up and providing urgent consultations at any time, anywhere nationwide with doctors working 24/7. He added that the center would offer instructions to patients and redirect them to authorities for providing services that patients need by giving them important contact numbers.

Also, the center would clarify the role of MoH and its services offered to patients directly or those offered in cooperation with strategic partnership with other health sectors and public centers such as the Civil Defense and the Saudi Red Crescent Authority.