The Health Services for Hajj and Umrah General Department, affiliated to the Ministry of Health (MOH), plays an important and vital role to support the MOH’s activities and preparations for the Hajj season through working around the clock to implement plans, objectives and recommendations, as well as arranging preparations for each year’s Hajj season in coordination with all ministerial specialized committees and bodies, general directorates in Makkah and Madinah and all other relevant governmental institutions.
Directly after the completion of each year’s Hajj season and with the beginning of the Islamic New Year, the Department starts to review results and study all needed requirements, such as medical and non-medical equipment, as well as the other Hajj-related projects. It also arranges and coordinates meetings for the coming year’s Hajj season, in addition to following up the implementation of all recommendations to make sure that preparations to receive the guests of Allah are complete.
The Department’s activities and tasks widen to include arrangements and coordination with the other ministries and sectors participating in the Hajj activities by holding meetings with representatives of such ministries and sectors to ensure a higher rate of accomplishment and easy communications. Furthermore, the Department discusses and studies all aspects of joint cooperation with such ministries and sectors to provide quality services for pilgrims in a coherent and consistent manner.
Making use of its wide-ranging experience, the Department has developed a procedural guide for the activities of all specialized committees, containing a detailed explanation on the tasks and work standards of each committee. It is worth mentioning that this guide stands as a reference book for all staffers of such committees. Moreover, the Department prepares the MOH’s Hajj annual plan every year and provides a full explanation on the plan and procedures to be adopted in the coming year’s Hajj season. Then, it starts to distribute this plan to all committees and officials thereof.
Furthermore, the Department does its best to provide all participants and workers in the Hajj season, including the MOH employees and visiting manpower of all medical, technical and administrative specialties, with appropriate houses in the Holy Sites, given that the Department has contracted with a specialized company to receive and carry the seconded personnel from King Abdulaziz Airport in Jeddah to their positions and bring them back after the finalization of the Hajj season.
The Department is also tasked with studying, reviewing, analyzing and tackling reservations monitored in the Hajj season to solve them in the coming year, thus ensuring providing the best solutions for the rendered services in manner that suits the MOH’s role. This comes as part of the Department’s keenness to provide integrated services for pilgrims in a fast, easy and accessible way to serve the world standing of Saudi Arabia and meet aspirations of the Saudi rulers, May Allah protect them.