Under the Chairmanship of His Excellency the Minister of Health, Eng. Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al-Falih, the Hajj Preparatory Committees Assessment Meeting has been held today, Sunday, in Madinah. The meeting was attended by His Excellency the Vice Minister of Health, Mr. Hamad Al-Doweila', a number of the Ministry of Health’s (MOH) senior officials and all heads of Hajj preparatory committees.
The meeting reviewed the emergency and therapeutic health services and the efforts exerted by the MOH during the Hajj season in general, as well as the basic initiatives, meant to develop the performance, through seven discussion panels in order to identify and prioritize these initiatives.
Moreover, the meeting was accompanied by a workshop, which covered the details of dealing with Mina stampede incident on the first day of Eid Al-Adha, through a worksheet presented by the Director General of Makkah Health Affairs, Dr. Mustafa Baljoun, while the participants highlighted the lessons learned from this incident.
Within the same vein, participants got briefed on a report on the Self-Assessment of the Hajj Season in Madinah, delivered by the Director General of Madinah Health Affairs, Dr. Ahmad Al-Saghir. Besides, the MOH assessment meeting discussed a worksheet entitled “Therapeutic Cardiac Services during the Hajj Season: What Have We Learned?” presented by Dr. Khalid Al-Fraidi.
Furthermore, the meeting reviewed the results of a media survey, conducted by the MOH during the1436H-Hajj season, presented by the Chairman of the Hajj Preparatory Committees, Dr. Emad Al-Jahdali. The meeting also touched upon a report on the survey results, submitted by the CEO of King Abdullah Medical City (KAMC) in Makkah, Dr. Sohail Ba-Jammal.
It is worth mentioning that the MOH health facilities provided therapeutic services to over 405,542 patients pilgrims during the 1436H-Hajj season, in addition to screening over than 1,300,00 pilgrims coming through 15 health surveillance centers at land, air, and maritime entry points. Also, the MOH conducted 22 open-heart operations, 668 cardiac catheterization operations, 2,213 dialysis sessions, and 31 interventional endoscopy surgeries.
On the other hand, the Minister of Health paid a farewell visit to the final batch of pilgrims, departing from Prince Muhammad bin Abdulaziz International Airport (PMAA) in Madinah. Al-Falih offered them some token gifts, wishing them accepted Hajj and a safe return to their homelands.