Dubai Ambulance will soon be a paid service
dubai — Ambulance services in Dubai will no longer be offered free of cost, as the Dubai Corporation for Ambulance Services is ready to implement a ‘self-funding programme’ designed to cover operational costs.
To use the service, patients will use their insurance cards. Those without insurance cards will be given the service free “on a humanitarian basis”. Additionally, Emirates ID cards can be used if insurance cards are not available when the services are required.
According to officials, the decision is to be implemented by the end of 2017, and is not meant to generate income, but rather to improve services and reduce government spending on ambulances.
dubai — Ambulance services will not be offered free of cost in Dubai, with the Dubai Corporation for Ambulance Services (DCAS) all set to implement a ‘self-funding programme’ to cover its basic operational costs.
Patients will be able to use their insurance cards to pay for the service. However, those without valid insurance will be given the service free of cost on a “humanitarian basis until required”.
The first phase of the initiative will cover all Dubai residents and will later be extended to include visitors as well.
Officials announced on Tuesday that the decision, which will be implemented by the end of the year, was not meant to generate income but to improve the services offered and reduce government spending on ambulance services.
Khalifa bin Darri, executive director of the DCAS, said the move will help build a strategic plan for development of the health sector in the emirate. “The health insurance coverage shall help in reducing the government spending on ambulance and emergency, while the DCAS shall cover the emergency needs of people who do not have valid health insurance according to the current policy.”
Patients, however, will not be required to wait for insurance approval since the payment will be done through crowd funding.
Dr Omar Al Sakkaf, director of medical and technical affairs at the DCAS, said the initiative will be rolled out step-by-step to reduce government spending on the cor- poration. “This will be funded through insurance now.”
He said the Emirates ID card would be used if patients don’t have their insurance cards in hand. “All data is now included in the Emirates ID cards and these can be used easily,” he added.
“Patients will be taken to the nearest government or private hospital that will be the proper facility to handle the crisis at hand,” he said.
Emergency costs
Currently, one patient being transported to the hospital costs the DCAS Dh750. “This is just an average and the costs can go up depending on the nature of the medical emergency that is being dealt with,” said Dr Sakaf.
The DCAS will link to the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) and provide patient data to the authority.
Dr Haider Yousaf, director of health funding at the DHA, said the service was already covered by insurance in the emergency services Basic Health Benefits plan. The compulsory health insurance
The health insurance coverage shall help in reducing the government spending on ambulance and emergency.” Khalifa bin Darri, DCAS
now covers 2.7 million residents and an average of 14.2 million visitors to Dubai annually.
The DCAS has a fleet of 177 ambulances. Recently, five Mustangs that can travel at up to 300km/h were added to the fleet. The vehicles, which are worth Dh1 million each, come equipped with basic medical equipment designed to respond to emergency calls. They have the ability to travel at a much faster speed than ordinary vehicles, therefore reaching an injured patient in record time.
asmaalizain@khaleejtimes.com