RIYADH — The Ministry of Defense, represented by the General Administration of Medical Services for the Armed Forces, has deployed a fleet of medical evacuation aircraft to transport emergency cases round the clock. The beneficiaries of this service include patients who require urgent treatment and consultation at oncology and cardiac departments as well as emergency cases at specialized hospitals and medical cities under the Ministry of Health. The air ambulance will also be used to transport samples of the coronavirus cases from various regions to the national laboratory in Riyadh. The medical air ambulance service will benefit patients within cities and outside regions to tackle the situation arising out of the suspension of both the domestic and international flights as part of precautionary and preventive measures to stem the spread of coronavirus. This arrangement was made in line with the directives of the leadership to harness all capabilities to combat the spread of the pandemic. The cooperation is an extension of the integrated efforts between the Ministry of Health and Medical Services for the Armed Forces at all levels to address the coronavirus pandemic. The fleet of air ambulances operated 67 services to transport more than 198 patients during the past two weeks from various regions of the Kingdom. It is noteworthy that this fleet of air medical evacuation planes annually transports more than 2500 patients, with operating more than 1,600 trips to transport patients from within and outside the Kingdom.
