All-woman ambulance service in Saudi Arabia
Female staff on duty will respond to distress calls from women
Agroup of Saudi women doctors has launched an all-woman ambulance service following the lifting of the ban on women-driving last week. The team of women doctors at a government hospital in Khobar, in east Saudi Arabia, say they felt compelled to start the service out of humanitarian and national duty convictions, Al Arabiya TV reported.
The female staff of the ambulance will respond to distress calls from women in the Eastern Province. The team on duty will transfer the female patients to hospitals upon injury or if they go into labour.
This community service project aims to afford women more privacy if ever involved in an emergency situation on the road. Team member Amal Al Sulaibekh said working in emergency situations requires doctors to stay on call around the clock. The announcement of this initiative comes in the same week Saudi women took to the streets to drive after a longtime ban was lifted by a royal decree.