When a pilgrim collapses in a crowd of millions, getting an ambulance to the patient can be difficult. Medical teams therefore rely on paramedics moving through the crowds on foot, ready to provide treatment before a vehicle can reach the scene. UAE-based Response Plus Medical Services (RPM) says its Saudi operation achieved a record emergency response time of 2.5 minutes during this year's Hajj , providing pre-hospital medical coverage for around 1.7 million pilgrims across Arafat, Muzdalifah and Mina. The company said it deployed 6,000 medical personnel, including doctors, paramedics, nurses and rapid intervention teams, alongside 350 ambulances and emergency vehicles. It also established 71 medical points across the three sites to bring treatment closer to pilgrims. Stay up to date with the latest news. Follow KT on WhatsApp Channels. The medical points included 37 in Arafat, nine in Muzdalifah and 25 in Mina. Of the 350 ambulances, 304 were deployed across the sites, while 46 were held as backup for disaster management support. One of the key elements of the operation was the deployment of between 300 and 350 roaming paramedics, who moved through crowded areas on foot carrying medical equipment to reach people who had collapsed or become unwell. Dr Rohil Raghavan, chief executive of RPM, said the teams were able to start treatment where patients were found rather than automatically transferring them to a clinic. Many of the cases involved pilgrims fainting from exhaustion . Paramedics administered intravenous fluids at the scene and remained with patients until they recovered, he said. The approach was intended to improve response times, particularly in areas where moving a patient through dense crowds could be difficult. Raghavan said this year's Hajj was the most challenging operation the company had managed recently. RPM had previously covered a smaller part of the medical operation through its work with the Saudi Arabian Railway, but its role this year extended across all three holy sites. The movement of millions of pilgrims, combined with traffic restrictions and police controls, meant ambulance routes and medical personnel had to be repositioned as conditions changed. Raghavan said roads and access points could be opened and closed at short notice, requiring the command team to revise deployment plans and reorganise personnel and vehicles. In response to crowd surges around Mina and along the Mina-Haram route, the company said it activated contingency arrangements, adjusted staff schedules and deployed additional ambulances. It also used AI-integrated software to manage staffing and rescheduling in real time. The company said its operation included a specialised command centre monitoring critical cases, GPS tracking of resources and telemedicine services. The medical teams dealt with emergencies including heart attacks, strokes, heatstroke and dehydration. Patients were stabilised before being transferred to hospitals when necessary. RPM also provides emergency medical services at airports in Abu Dhabi, where its responsibilities include assessing and stabilising patients at the scene until government emergency services take over. During an emergency incident at an airport in the UAE earlier this year, the company said it mobilised 10 additional ambulances and had them ready to respond within minutes. The vehicles were not ultimately deployed as the situation stabilised. The company's international emergency work also includes search-and-rescue operations following the earthquake in Turkey. Raghavan said its subsidiary, Prometheus Medical International, mobilised teams to provide trauma care, emergency evacuation, resuscitation and stabilisation, as well as medical support in difficult field conditions. For the Hajj operation, Raghavan said the challenge was to keep medical personnel close enough to patients, maintain coverage as access routes changed and decide when someone could be treated at the scene and when th
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