His Excellency the Minister of Health, Dr. Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Rabeeah, has emphasized that the general health condition of pilgrims is secure - Praise be to Allah – after having settled in the Holy Site of Mina and performing the stoning rite (Jamarat Al-Aqabah, also known as the Large Jamarah), and after the completion the ritual of standing (Wuqoof) at Arafat, as well as spending the night (Mabeet) in Muzdalefah. Dr. Al-Rabeeah pointed out that all reports confirm their safety and that no epidemiological cases have been detected, thanks be to Allâh. He stressed that the health facilities in Mina are working at full capacity to serve the pilgrims through 4 hospitals and 46 health centers, in addition to 17 emergency centers scattered along Al-Jamarat Bridge and 5 health centers in the Holy Mosque in Makkah.
The Minister added, many field-medicine ambulances have been deployed on all the roads of the pilgrims in Mina, Arafat and Muzdalifah, to be an integrated medical fleet offering the best curative and ambulatory health services at any time and any place, indicating that this ambulance convoy consists of 175 ambulances, including 80 large ambulances to transport patients to hospitals and health centers located in the vicinity of the Holy Places, and 95 small ambulances to deal with the medical conditions requiring urgent medical intervention, pointing out that these cars are supplied with modern and advanced equipment, so as to function as Mobile Intensive Care Units, thus saving the lives of patients and injured until the arrival at the hospital.
His Excellency the Minister of Health added that modern and sophisticated equipment was provided to health facilities (including hospitals and health centers) in preparation for the 1432-Hajj season, pointing out that a sum of SR 50 million has been allocated for the renovation and development of medical devices in intensive care units and cardiology and emergency sections. Al-Rabeeah explained that the equipment included the following: 10 advanced devices for the treatment of fever in intensive care units, advanced gastrointestinal endoscopies to treat patients at the Holy Places' hosptals without referring them to other hospitals, 40 hemodialysis machines at kidney sections, high-tech laboratory equipment to quickly identify emerging indicators of cardiac dysfunction, sophisticated devices to deal with sunstroke cases, and 440 wireless devices for easy communication among hospitals, health centers and ambulances in different regions, in addition to the expansion of the cardiac program including heart catheterization and heart surgeries in the Holy Places' hospitals during the Hajj season.
Dr. Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Rabeeah said, all the Holy Places hospitals have been supplied with airstrips, and some cases have been already airlifted by air ambulances provided by the Red Crescent Authority, through coordination between the two bodies in order to do all that is possible to serve the pilgrims. The computer system and the smart business program have been developed in all health facilities at the Holy Places during the Hajj season, with the aim to facilitate the controlling, monitoring, collecting information processes, as well as preparing statistics and reports, in addition to developing and modernizing the Control Center of Mina Emergency Hospital to follow-up and control the workflow processes in all health facilities around the clock, Dr. Al-Rabeeah concluded.