Saudi Red Crescent paramedics on 24-hour Ramadan alert

Saudi Red Crescent Society paramedics exert extraordinary efforts every Ramadan to answer the call of duty and be on alert to help the injured and victims of accidents everywhere.

Okaz/Saudi Gazette visited paramedics in Tabuk and spent a few hours with them.

As the paramedics were preparing to break their fast, they were called to attend an emergency. The men stopped everything and in a matter of minutes were on their way to respond.

With only a few dates and water to break their fast, the men arrived at the scene of a road accident and helped the victims before returning to their station.

Paramedic Ali Al-Eneizi said most emergency cases in Ramadan involve road accidents and take place shortly before Maghrib prayer.

“This is a dangerous time as everyone is trying to reach home before Maghrib so they can break their fasts with family. Some cases have to do with patients who suffer from diabetes, high blood pressure and other chronic diseases,” Al-Eneizi said.

Humood Saud, another paramedic, said they encounter difficulties reaching the scene of an accident because people gather and block traffic flow. “We do our best to get there as soon as possible but if people stop on the road preventing the flow of traffic, it makes the jobs of emergency crews harder,” he said.

His colleague Turki Al-Eneizi said sometimes they receive fake reports of accidents. “We respond to every case once it has been reported. I wish those who prank us knew how much time we waste responding to every call. I wish they knew that we could have used the time to respond to a real case and help someone who was actually in need of it,” he said.

This article was first published in the Saudi Gazette on July 6, 2014.