ABU DHABI // As the National Ambulance service marks its second anniversary, emergency workers spoke of their most memorable moments answering or responding to a 998 call.
“We deal with emergencies and highly-stressful events every day, but I will never forget the day we saved a newborn baby trapped inside an amniotic sac, which is a rare occurrence,” said emergency medical technician Mohammed Rawashdeh. “Her parents almost gave up and thought they had lost her.
“The moment that baby took her first breath after we managed to get her out of the sac cannot be described in words. Incidents like this explain why I have chosen this career.”
Emergency medical dispatcher (EMD) Salsabeel Al Ajrami took a call at 3am during a 12-hour shift. “A man was in a state of panic because his wife was going into labour and he did not know what to do,” she said. “At that moment in time, he could not listen or focus, although the baby was impatient to come to this world and was half out. All he wanted was an ambulance.”
Ms Al Ajrami said she worked to reassure the father-to-be that an ambulance was on its way and he had to listen and act accordingly until the ambulance crew’s arrival.
“He finally calmed down and started listening to my instructions, which helped him deliver the baby and save his wife’s life,” she said. “It was a priceless moment when I heard the baby cry.”
EMD Mohammed AlGhoul will never forget one 998 call during his shift in the control room. “I received a call from a patient, but there was silence at the other end,” he said. “I immediately added the number on WhatsApp and messaged him.
“The patient messaged me back saying that he was in severe pain and was unable to talk. I asked him to share his location through WhatsApp and immediately dispatched the ambulance to his GPS coordinates.
“In such critical situations, these type of calls are a life-or-death situation and I was so relieved that the ambulance crew arrived so quickly and were able to save his life.”
EMD Ahmed AlShorman recounts receiving a call about two men who were unconscious. “The men had suffered cardiac arrest as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning in a closed garage,” he said. “Every second counts with cardiac arrests, so I immediately started giving CPR instructions to the person who called us.
“Fortunately, he was accompanied by his colleague, so I asked them to put me on speaker and gave them step-by-step CPR instructions until the ambulance crew arrived. I really felt like we were making a difference.”
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