he needs of pilgrims who suddenly become ill whilst visiting the Kingdom. A few days ago I had the opportunity of assessing if these services were adequate enough. A friend of ours got really ill after the morning prayers and needed to be rushed to the hospital immediately. He was severely dehydrated and complained of abdominal cramps. The pain was so severe that he began to cry. I suspected a stomach infection along with dehydration and hence decided that he should be taken to the hospital for some IV fluid. I called 997 to get an ambulance as the patient could not move at all. Within ten minutes the ambulance arrived at the hotel. Two Saudi paramedics came up to the room. However, the two gentleman could not speak a word of English. Luckily a friend of mine from Medina and I were present at the scene to assist with translations. I found the two gentlemen to be inadequately trained in their jobs. Instead of them placing the patient on a stretcher and getting the patient to the ambulance, they asked us to put the patient on a wheel chair and bring him downstairs.I asked them what were they trained in. It is their job to get the patient to the hospital safely.Any way, once we put the gentleman inside the ambulance,I hopped inside the ambulance myself to be with the patient. Now the drama begins. The ambulance driver does not know how to get to the hospital. He asked me for directions on how to get there.I do know Medina tul Munawwara fairly well but the point is, shouldn't an ambulance driver know where all the hospitals within his jurisdiction are situated. We finally got to the hospital, only to find that all the other family members got to the hospital before the patient because the silly ambulance driver had no idea where he was going to. Now in an emergency situation, time is a factor.When we finally arrived at the hospital, once again both paramedic personnel asked the family to take the patient out of the ambulance. Surely, that is the job of the ambulance services. Our family friend and I shouted at both personnel and made sure that they took the patient out of the ambulance themselves. When we arrived at King Fahad hospital in Medina, we were taken to the emergency section immediately and the medical staff on duty treated the patient promptly.I was very impressed with the quick and efficient service we received at the hospital.A file was opened within five minutes. After two emergency doctors seen the patient, the patient was sent in for chest and stomach x-rays. The hospital is equipped with state of the art x-ray imaging machinery. Within seconds images were produced confirming a stomach infection. A consultant doctor specializing in gastroenterology was asked to come down to see the patient. He was a very well spoken gentleman and assisted the patient with absolute politeness and kindness. Within two hours the patient was sent home along with medications supplied by the hospital. The entire hospital trip was free. It is a service provided by the Saudi government for Pilgrims frequenting the Kingdom. I would like to take the opportunity of thanking KING FAHAD HOSPITAL in MEDINA for the outstanding services rendered to the patient. On the other hand I would like to see improvements with regards to the ambulance services. They do not meet international standards at all. I would suggest that the Saudi government employs paramedics from other countries to accompany Saudi personnel. In this way, better training can be achieved. I also believe that one of the paramedics within a team must be able to speak English fluently as there are thousands of pilgrims from outside the Kingdom who do not speak a word of Arabic. However,having pointed out the flaws with regards to the ambulance services,I do also need to compliment the ambulance services for arriving at the scene very quickly despite the area around the Prophet's mosque being jam packed with traffic.
