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New emergency response car in Dubai can reach you in 6 minutes

Dubai - The advantage of the car over the ambulance is that the doctors can give medicines on the spot unlike paramedics.

The Dubai Corporation for Ambulance Services (DCAS) has launched a car that can respond to emergency cases within six minutes. It can run faster than an ambulance and, for the first time, it has an emergency doctor on board instead of advanced paramedics.
The DCAS also launched the first and only electric fast-responder bike in the country. Both innovations were showcased at the ongoing Arab Health Congress.
"The advantage of the car over the ambulance is that the doctors can give medicines on the spot unlike paramedics," said Dr Heba Metawea, an emergency doctor at DCAS.
"Our current response rate is eight minutes and we want to bring it down to four minutes," she said. Metawea added that the average response rate to an emergency was six minutes while 30 per cent of the cases were dealt with within four minutes.
The cars are mainly stationed in Deira and Bur Dubai areas, with one in Hatta. In total, the DCAS has allocated four cars with emergency doctors.
"We see all kinds of cases including those with heart conditions, rheumatism or other critical cases where a doctor's expertise is needed right away," said Dr Metawea.
The doctor evaluates the cases and decides if the treatment needs to be given on the spot or an ambulance has to be called. "We have 24 different types of ambulances and all are used according to case requirements," she said.
The electric fast-responder bike at the exhibition, on the other hand, is among the four bikes placed at two locations in Dubai.
Jovito Castro, fast responder at DCAS, said the motorcycles are placed in areas with small roads. "This is where only bikes can enter such as Naif and Al Raffa roads," he told Khaleej Times.
He said the electric responder is the first one in the country and it has been launched for testing purposes. "We have a charging station at DCAS for these bikes."
The response time is seven minutes on average. "But since we are with bikes, we can pass through jammed roads and cross sidewalks so we can respond to emergencies in four minutes, too," he said.
asmaalizain@khaleejtimes.com