Hamad Medical Corporation’s Ambulance Service’s ‘Know the 5 to save a life’ national awareness campaign is aimed at educating the public about the key actions to take when calling an ambulance in an emergency situation.
The campaign was previously run in 2013 and is being rerun in 2018 to highlight the messages to the public. Each year the Ambulance Service receives more than 250,000 calls and many of these are requesting emergency support for life-threatening incidents. In order to be able to provide the best possible support as quickly as possible, it is vital that members of the public follow the campaign’s five key steps.
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Dial 999 immediately - The sooner you call, the sooner the ambulance can get to you.
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Know your location - As soon as we know where you are, the ambulance can be sent.
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Answer all questions - The extra details you can provide are critically important to helping save a life. Remember the ambulance is already on its way.
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Follow all instructions - Important instructions can be given over the phone to help you save a life. Sometimes this is as simple as going out to wave the ambulance down.
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Give way to ambulances - Remember an ambulance stuck behind you in traffic may well be going to your home.
Each of these steps assists the Ambulance Service in their response, from calling 999 immediately, to being able to explain your location accurately and, very importantly, giving way to ambulances on the roads to help them arrive at the incident scene as quickly as possible.
It is no exaggeration to say the work of the Ambulance Service is a matter of life and death. It’s their request to 'Help us help you' - as it could be your life they save next.
