The National Crises and Disasters Control Center of the Ministry of Health is a meeting point for health information for decision makers based on accurate and sound information in the event of crises of various levels, as it constitutes an important measurement of the performance of branches of centers, hospitals and places of human gatherings. The center is linked at the level of the regions of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with 20 branches being followed by hospitals and health facilities within the scope of each branch through the technology system web EOC (Emergency Operations Center) Program, which enables the user to raise communications and data and to receive directives and means of communication of telephone lines, wireless and satellite communication devices. The National Center receives communications from branches and other bodies in the event of an emergency which leads to a health crisis, whether it is mass casualties such as car and aircraft accidents, and injuries resulting from natural events such as torrents and earthquakes. The center also receives reports related to epidemics such as epidemic diseases or food poisoning, and others. It also receives any communication related to the safety of health facilities. In the interest of the safety of citizens and expatriates, the center's specializations include linking to sites of human gatherings such as schools, universities, markets, airports, and others. However, its efforts double with the millions of peoples in Hajj and Umrah seasons. The Supervisor General of Emergency, Disaster and Ambulance Services in Saudi Arabia at the Ministry of Health, Dr. Jalal bin Mohammed Al-Owais, stated that the center operates around the clock, by a Saudi team of more than 50 cadres distributed at intervals to implement two tasks: the first is monitoring of accidents and reports. The second is making sure of readiness to which health facilities are ready to deal with crises and disasters through a daily report that includes "the clinical capacity of each hospital in the Kingdom, the number of blood units available, the human cadres available for this day and their specialties, the number of ambulances, and the available stock of essential medical supplies. This aspect includes all hospitals, whether affiliated with the Ministry of Health, the military, university sectors, or the private sector. He pointed out that the work mechanism is subject to the scope of the branches of the center in the regions so that the branch will manage the handling of the accident or crisis and employ capabilities of hospitals and centers affiliated with that branch, while the National Crises and Disasters Control Center in Riyadh follow the procedures and monitor the details and analyze them within a program linked with competent authorities. Dr Al-Owais explained the crisis management mechanism in case its data exceeds the hospital's capacity, adding that the response task is led by the center's branch in the region by supporting absorptive capacity, providing cadres and securing resources from another hospital or distributing cases to the region's hospitals. When the situation exceeds the region's potential, The National Crises and Disasters Control Center will manage the crisis and move the capabilities between the regions of the Kingdom. He pointed out that the mechanism that the center uses to ensure the daily readiness of health facilities according to vital indicators and automatically, contributes to escalating the situation when an emergency occurs to the national level and what the situation requires such as calling the ministry leaders and specialists to manage the crisis, in addition to providing information which contributes to making the appropriate decision. Dr Al-Owais stated that the center carries out the official communication channel with the various ministries and state agencies, and the circle of communication with the relevant external parties is expanded to receive or send reports and instructions in addition to exchanging information. He explained that the center during the past year 2019 received more than 4,500 health reports nationwide, thanks to the equipment and the experience of working cadres that the center contributes to providing analytical results on the causes of health crises, in addition to taking early warning measures to prevent expected health risks, their location and times during the year. He stressed that the center works to monitor and follow closely crises and disasters outside the borders through communication with external organizations, especially the World Health Organization (WHO), and that is what the center is currently monitoring and analyzing the results of the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19).
