According to the Ministry of Health (MOH), since the beginning of Dhul-Qa'dah until Dhul-Hijjah 6, MOH's hospitals in Makkah and Madinah have provided their specialized services to pilgrims during this year's Hajj season. They conducted 355 cardiac catheterization procedures, 19 open-heart surgeries, 1277 dialysis sessions and 72 endoscopy procedures, in addition to other 454 surgeries.
MOH also pointed out that the hospitals' emergency departments received 18,436 pilgrims and outpatient clinics served 27,738 cases, while healthcare centers received 188,402 patients, in addition to 1,958 cases admitted to hospitals. They handled 32 cases of heat exhaustion and one case of sunstroke.
It is noteworthy that the MOH pursues its program "Safe Surgery Saves Lives" (SSSL), which features providing free specialized healthcare services, including open-heart surgeries, cardiac catheterization, kidney blood and peritoneal dialysis, alimentary endoscopy, obstetrical cases, in addition to other specialized services needed by pilgrim patients.
Furthermore, MOH activates field medicine and emergency services during Hajj, by gearing up a fleet of 100 small ambulances as mobile intensive care units, to handle field ambulatory emergencies, in addition to 80 highly equipped big ambulances.
MOH harnesses all human potential to serve pilgrims. More than 29.000 health practitioners, including various medical, technical and administrative groups, are commissioned under Hajj Manpower Program.