The Ministry of Health (MOH) has launched the Medical Referral Program «Ehalati» in the Holy Sites. The Program is an e-system meant to facilitate the procedures of referring patients between hospitals of the region or between the health affairs directorates across the Kingdom. This referral process is electronically done at the different health levels (primary, secondary, specialized, or reference), based on the medical decision; either due to the lack of medical service or a bed for the patient. Also, the patient is referred according to his/her medical status upon arrival at the hospital.
The Program features three referral types; life-saving cases (who are immediately accepted based on the nearest location and the availability of the required medical service), emergency cases (for whom the appropriate action is taken within maximum of 12 hours), in addition to inpatient cases (who are handled within 24 hours).
It is worth mentioning that MOH has prepared a number of hospitals and healthcare centers in Makkah, holy sites, and Madinah, including 25 hospitals and 156 healthcare centers with a 5,000-bed capacity. More than 30,000 health practitioners are participating in serving the pilgrims. Also, MOH has equipped 18 health emergency points at the stations of the holy sites’ train, 180 ambulances and 17 emergency centers at Jamarat Bridge.