In the case of an emergency like a car crash or a medical condition in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, simply call the emergency number, and according to the nature of the case a team of emergency experts will come to your aid.When calling the emergency number, please remember to state your name, the nature of the accident, address of the emergency and how serious the situation is.

Make sure you cover the following basics:

What is the emergency?
Who and how many people are injured or endangered?
Where did the accident happen?
What exactly happened?
After that, listen carefully to the paramedics’ questions and instructions. And do not hang up until instructed to.

Ensure safety of the site

As a paramedic, there are some important things you can try to provide care and assistance until the arrival of the medical staff without hesitation or stress, and remember that remaining calm and clear-headed will allow you to take positive actions more objectively.

To minimise the danger during an emergency situation, remember to do the basic steps that will ease the situation, and help you to get the best and quickest response in an emergency situation:

First priority is your own safety and the safety of the people accompanying you.
In case the emergency was indoor (an apartment or a house), clear a path to the injured; move furniture and unlock doors, have someone wait for the ambulance if possible and have the elevator ready, and turn on the outside lights at night.
Do not move the patient unless his life is threatened by external factors such as fire, falling debris or electricity. If you must move an unconscious person, first stabilize the neck and back, then call for help immediately.
Check if the victim is conscious and never try to feed liquids to an unconscious person.
Check if the victim is breathing, if not, carefully position for artificial respiration, clear the airway, and commence mouth-to-mouth cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
If you found injuries and bleeding, wash your hands, if possible, before and after to avoid infection, lay the person down to reduce the chances of fainting caused by increased blood flow to the brain, and with a sterile bandage or a clean cloth and maintain pressure until the bleeding stops.
If you are interested in volunteering to be a certified paramedic, you can receive a practical training programme for emergency reaction know-how conducted by Sanid, and available for everybody above 18 years of age living in the UAE.
The Sanid programme has been developed out of the growing community initiative Takatof. Sanid works closely together with the National Crisis and Emergency Management Authority (NCEMA), in partnerships with the General Directorate of Abu Dhabi Police (ADP), the Ministry of Interior, Abu Dhabi University, the Swedish Civil Defence and the US Citizens Corps of Community Emergency Response Training (CERT). Click here for more information about Sanid programme.