According to the Ministry of Health (MOH), its hospitals and healthcare centers in Makkah, Madinah, and the Holy Sites have provided their free specialized medical services to pilgrims during this year’s Hajj season.
“Since the beginning of Dhul-Qa’dah till Dhul-Hijjah 20th, these hospitals and centers have served 649,690 pilgrims, in addition to 6,034 inpatients. Also, they have performed 40 open-heart surgeries, 1,140 cardiac catheterizations, 3,328 dialysis sessions, 151 endoscopies, and 14 birth cases,” stated MOH.
It is noteworthy that MOH has geared up since early for this year’s Hajj season, issued Hajj health requirements and recommendations for travelers to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and published these requirements through Saudi embassies of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques.
MOH pointed out that more than 1,690,000 pilgrims have benefited from the preventive and therapeutic services provided by MOH at health control centers of ports of entry. Besides, MOH, in collaboration with a number of governmental entities, has participated in (Makkah Route) Initiative, through which a number of preventive measures have been taken in the homelands of pilgrims before their arrival to the Kingdom. By Allah’s Grace, this initiative has achieved a paradigm shift in compliance with the health requirements, with pilgrims’ vaccination against meningitis and influenza at a rate of 100% for the first time.
MOH added that about 30,000 MOH employees have participated in serving pilgrims during this year’s Hajj season. MOH has prepared and equipped 25 hospitals (with a 5,000-bed capacity) in Makkah, Madinah, and the Holy Sites, in addition to 142 primary healthcare centers and more than 140 mobile medical clinics at pilgrims’ gathering places, especially health emergency points of Jamarat Bridge and Al Mashaaer Al Mugaddassah Metro.
It is worth mentioning that MOH has launched for the first time in this Hajj Season the (Telemedicine Robot) technology for medical consultations that allows any hospital in Mina to remotely contact with consultants in such delicate specialties. Moreover, MOH has enhanced its hospitals and healthcare centers with language translation devices in 12 languages, in addition to direct translation via 937-Service Center. Also, MOH, has introduced the Electronic Medical Record (EMR) System at 55 healthcare centers and all hospitals of the Holy Sites.