The Saudi Red Crescent Authority (SRCA; ar, هيئة الهلال الأحمر السعودي) is a humanitarian society that provides

emergency medical services Emergency medical services (EMS), also known as ambulance services or paramedic services, are emergency services that provide urgent pre-hospital treatment and stabilisation for serious illness and injuries and transport to definitive care. ...

in five administrative regions of the Kingdom of

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

. It was founded in 1934 under the name Saudi Red Crescent Association, which was later amended to Saudi Red Crescent Authority in 2008. By 2009, the Society had 447 First Aid Centers, run by 5,507 staff, with 1300

ambulances An ambulance is a medically equipped vehicle which transports patients to treatment facilities, such as hospitals. Typically, out-of-hospital medical care is provided to the patient during the transport. Ambulances are used to respond to medi ...

which are distributed in all hospitals and centres around the country. The Red Crescent has a particular role to play during Hajj (the annual pilgrimage to

Mecca Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow ...

), providing on-the-spot first aid and using its fleet of vehicles (1300 in 2009) to take emergency cases to the nearest medical facility. The Saudi Red Crescent Authorities offer medical service of first aid to citizens and foreign labors who are staying in the kingdom in ordinary circumstances and at time of catastrophes. The Authority contributes relief work inside the Kingdom and abroad. It offers service according to Islamic morals and instructions.

Establishment of the National Medical Emergency Association

It was the first independent medical entity in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as no previous organizational association for ambulatory services existed before the year of 1353 H. That idea brought up by key men of education and business and philanthropy to form the authority due to the war between Saudi Arabia and

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...

. Battles broke out in mountains of Asir and

Tihamah Tihamah or Tihama ( ar, تِهَامَةُ ') refers to the Red Sea coastal plain of the Arabian Peninsula from the Gulf of Aqaba to the Bab el Mandeb. Etymology Tihāmat is the Proto-Semitic language's term for ' sea'. Tiamat (or Tehom, in m ...

coasts where no convenient facilities or medical supplies for the wounded civilians and militants were available. The elite people in Saudi Arabia decided to strongly participate with their effort and prospects in that war to relieve the harshness of the war on the army. For that they requested from the government to form an authority in

assigned to perform ambulatory services of militants by doctors and medicines and bandages during the war.

Ambulance Charity Association

As the government of the late King Faisal bin Abdul-Aziz believed in the necessity of providing ambulatory

medical care Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health p ...

within the delivered services with more wide and independent method, the idea of establishing the association was proposed in the year of 1353 H by key personalities in Makkah. As they noticed the difficulties encountered by pilgrims while performing Hajj rituals, those people, the late Tala'at Harb Pasha was one of them, intended to support pilgrims with first aid and medical services.

Heatstroke Heat stroke or heatstroke, also known as sun stroke, is a severe heat illness that results in a body temperature greater than , along with red skin, headache, dizziness, and confusion. Sweating is generally present in exertional heatstroke, b ...

, exhaustion due to diseases and the age issues afflicted pilgrims at that time and their families are the one who took care of transferring them to Ajyad hospital, the only hospital in Mecca at that time. Those problems increased rapidly and caused the death of patients due to delays in transferring them to the hospital.

References

External links

Official website

Standing Commission of the Red Cross and Red Crescent

International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)

International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC)

Red Crescent and Red Cross Club
{{Portal, Saudi Arabia Medical and health organisations based in Saudi Arabia Air ambulance services in Saudi Arabia 1935 establishments in Saudi Arabia Red Cross and Red Crescent national societies