Minister of Public Health H E Dr Hanan Mohamed Al Kuwari, and other officials being briefed about the new technology introduced by the Ambulance Service yesterday.
Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC)’s Ambulance Service yesterday introduced new vehicles designed to transport non-emergency patients and give them a more comfortable experience during travel.
A fleet of 20 new vehicles was launched at the Hamad Medical City in the presence of H E Dr Hanan Mohamed Al Kuwari, Minister of Public Health.
Non-emergency transfers include moving patients from one HMC hospital to another as well as transporting patients with mobility problems from their homes to a hospital for appointments. HMC’s Ambulance Service transfers more than 50,000 non-emergency patients annually.
The Ambulance Service also introduced a fleet management system and replaced the existing paper based patient clinical records system with a new electronic Clinical Information System (CIS), applicable to both emergency and non- emergency patient transfers.
“The life-saving nature of the Ambulance Service’s emergency response teams is well documented, but less known is the role that the non-emergency teams fulfill. I am delighted to officially launch this new vehicle fleet and both the management and patient record technology,” said Dr Al Kuwari.
In the new patient transport vehicles, wider windows with lower frosting allows patients get a better view, fridges to keep water are installed — especially beneficial to dialysis patients, USB charging and WiFi hot spots are available. Also, patients will be having a choice either to lie on the stretcher or sit on a wheel chair during travel, says Brendon Morris, Chief Operating Officer, Ambulance Service, HMC.
“These patients are known to us for a long time. So we invited them to have a voice to tell us what is important to them inside the vehicle that would carry them every day. Most patients would like to see outside the vehicle as they are being driven, since this is one of the opportunities they are able to get out of their homes,” said Morris.
“These vehicles have the ability to transfer two patients together mainly because some told us that they prefer to travel together,” he added.
A ‘Stay Chair Stretcher’ is available in the vehicle to carry the patient easily on stairs if there is no elevator. Vehicles are also fitted with medical equipment including multiple oxygen sources.
The advanced fleet management system of the Ambulance Service controls all calls, triaging and dispatching for services involving patient transport and mobile healthcare service home visits across the country.
CIS was introduced as part of the system being implemented across the HMC and Primary Health Care Corporation, which will ensure that all clinical information on patients is available at the point of care.
“With the go live of the management system, we are able to track our ambulance units more accurately, assign staff and vehicles efficiently,” said Thomas Reimann, Executive Director of the Healthcare Coordination Service at HMC.
“The electronic patient clinical record enables clinical information about the patient’s condition to be sent through our paramedics to the hospital receiving team while the patient is still being transported in the ambulance. Then on arrival at the hospital, the patients’ data is automatically added to the Clinical Information System,” he added.
