The Ministry of Health (MOH) keeps on intensifying its preparations for this year Hajj season (1437H). In this regard, the Hajj Preparatory Committees have held their 22nd meeting yesterday, Monday, at the MOH Headquarters, under the chairmanship of the Head of Hajj Preparatory Committees and Supervisor General of Health Services for Hajj and Umrah General Department, Dr. Hussein bin Abdullah Al-Ghannam. In the presence of chairmen of the aforementioned committees and with the participation of officials of the health affairs in Makkah and Madinah regions and King Abdullah Medical City (KAMC), the meeting discussed, via closed-circuit television (CCTV), the health awareness plan for this year's Hajj season. This plan includes the introduction of new electronic apps, awareness leaflets with quiet graphics about a number of issues such as sunstrokes, chronic diseases, MERS-CoV and health requirements.
Moreover, the meeting discussed the Hajj Emergency Committee preparations and the mechanism of developing the emergency work by dividing it into three axes: the central area, holy sites in Arafat, Mina and Muzdalifa and Makkah. Furthermore, the meeting touched upon the contribution of the Hajj visiting manpower with medical and nursing staff from outside the MOH in the rare specialties, including emergency, ICU and burns.
Within the same vein, the participants got acquainted with the progress of work and what have been achieved so far about the completion of all medical and non-medical preparations and precautionary measures for controlling the communicable diseases, particularly with regard to MERS-CoV.
It is worth mentioning that the MOH health facilities have provided therapeutic services to more than 405,542 patients among pilgrims during the 1436H-Hajj season, in addition to screening more than 1,300,000 pilgrims coming through 15 health surveillance centers at land, air, and maritime entry points. During the same Hajj season, the MOH also conducted 22 open-heart operations, 668 cardiac catheterization operations, 2,213 dialysis sessions, and 31 gastrointestinal endoscopy sessions.