MINA — A total of 1657 female Saudi nurses are participating in taking care of sick pilgrims, according to Dr. Munira Al Osaimi, the Assistant Deputy Health Minister and Head of Laboratories, Nursing, and Nutrition committee at Ministry of Health in this year Haj season. “We are seeing more participation from Saudi nurses, whether males or females, in Haj healthcare service by the passage of time. Their participation is determined by their qualifications and experience, and willingness to serve,“ she said. She added the above figures represent 28% of the total nurse workforce participating in Haj service at the ministry and that the Saudi nursing workforce, male and female, represent almost 65% of the total nurses in Haj this year, while the total number of nurse represent over 26% of the total 22,500 healthcare workers in Haj this year. Dr. Al Osaimi said the Ministry has prepare these nurses for serving in Haj. “For example they receive training session in how to deal with pilgrims, and this we wanted to teach them some major language of pilgrims. So, we made a booklet withcommon words and phrases used in communication between nurses and patient in 12 languages including English, French, Urdu, and others, “ she said. — Saeed Al Khotani
