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Dial 9999 to Call an Ambulance in Oman

Oman: Ambulance and Emergency Medical Services

AT-A-GLANCE

DIAL 9999 TO CALL AN AMBULANCE IN OMAN

  • It’s also possible to call 112, but those calls will be re-directed to the 9999 call center [Source: Royal Omani Police quote]
  • Emergency medical services are managed by the Royal Omani Police through the Public Authority for Civil Defense and Ambulance (PACDA)

HOW CAN I CALL AN AMBULANCE IN OMAN?

Dialing 9999 will connect you to the central public service call center who takes initial information and then forwards it to the nearest appropriate service. As of 2009, there was no medical assistance provided by dispatchers to callers.

Not necessarily. Ambulance stations are regionalized, making the accessible to a wider population, but as of 2009 there were 23 permanent ambulance units serving >70% of Omani population with an additional five temporary units activated during summer Salalah Festival (Khalifah 2009).

[Verifiable info not available]

Yes, personnel staffing the ambulance in Oman are trained to an advanced emergency medicine technician (AEMT) level. (Khalfia 2009)

  • Course Requirements:
    1. Completed general science secondary school certificate with 70% or above grade.
    2. Physically and medically fit.
    3. Never been convicted / have a criminal record
    4. After passing the recruitment process the training program for AEMTs is divided into three periods:
      • First period: 6 months, covers basic police sciences and police training. This period is spent at the Sultan Qaboos Academy of Police Sciences
      • Second period: foundation lasting one year; covers English language, anatomy and physiology, and basic computer sciences.
      • Third period: one-year period of specialized training. This is divided into three semesters of 16 weeks each:
        • A – 1st semester: trauma and patient assessment.
        • B – 2nd semester: medical emergencies and patient assessment.
        • C – 3rd semester: special cases and selected topics.
    5. Written and practical examinations after each semester
      • Linked to tertiary hospitals to further expose them to emergency cases and skills practice
    6. Graduates given Field Preceptors (senior AEMTs) for 6-8 months prior to field assignment
  • Instruction
    • Provided by specialized Omani instructors trained by international EMS institutes
      • American Heart Association (AHA)
      • US National Association of EMTs (NAEMT)
    • Courses were originally adopted from US-NHTSA EMT-Paramedic curriculum and include BLS, ACLS, BTLS, PHTLS, PALS, and other emergency care courses
TRANSPORT BY GROUND AMBULANCE IN OMAN

Ambulances are “very modern and equipped with excellent equipment and state of the art supplies” meeting the American KKK-A ambulance specifications (Khalifah 2009).

TRANSPORT BY AIR AMBULANCE IN OMAN

Access to helicopters in the Omani EMS is possible.

Here’s a list of hospitals and health centers in Oman. [Source: Royal Omani Police website]

Royal Oman Police Hospital24603988
Sultan’s Armed Forces Hospital24337997
Sultan Qaboos University Hospital24147777
Royal Hospital24599000
Khoula Hospital24563625
A’ Nahdha Hospital24837800
A’ Rahmah Hospital24815132
Al Masara Hospital24873268
Quriyat Hospital24845003
Sultan Qaboos Hospital – Salalah23216100
Taqa Hospital23258041
Rakhyot Hospital23200006
Sadah Hospital23277016
Tawi Atir Hospital23283773
Madinat Al-Haq Hospital23282442
Umm Al Ghawrif Hospital23265000
Al Buraimi Hospital25650855
Yanqul Hospital25672055
Wadi Al-Jizzi Hospital25668033
Ibri Hospital25691990
Tanam Hospital25699033
Nizwa Hospital25211331
Sumail Hospital25352236
Izki Hospital25340033
Bahla Hospital25419233
Al-Jabal Al-Akhdar Hospital25429279
Adam Hospital25434167
Sohar Hospital26840399
Saham Hospital26855148
Wadi Hibi Hospital26848818
A’ Rustaq Hospital26877186
Wadi Bani Ghafir Hospital26898100
Wadi Al-Hamli Hospital26765199
Wadi Bani Kharoos Hospital26874212
Wadi Mistel Hospital26873310
Sur Hospital25561373
Ja’lan Bani Bu Ali Hospital25553011
Ja’lan Bani Bu Hassan Hospital25551055
Masirah Hospital25504654
Ibra Hospital25587100
Sinaw Hospital25524143
Badiya Hospital25583998
Samad A’shan Hospital25526344
Dima Wa’taeen Hospital25560047
Wadi Bani Khalid Hospital25505400
Khasab Hospital26730148
Diba Hospital26836443
Bukha Hospital26828562
Bousher Health Complex24593311
Haima Hospital23436421
Al Duqm Hospital25415276
Al-Jazer Hospital92814127
Mahoot health center25427400

The emergency medical services are funded entirely by Royal Oman Police and provided free of charge, regardless of insurance status.

ADDITIONAL INFO

Common Emergencies in Oman
  • Road traffic crashes – approximately 10,000 per year (Al-Lamki 2010)
  • Security threats, specifically from neighboring Yemen’s ongoing civil war
  • Earthquakes
  • Tropical cyclones
  • Flash flooding
Vaccinations for Oman

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), different groups of travelers will require different vaccinations for travel in Oman:

  • All Travelers
    • Measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine
    • Diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccine
    • Varicella (chickenpox) vaccine
    • Polio vaccine
    • Your yearly flu shot
  • Most Travelers
    • Hepatitis A
    • Typhoid
  • Some Travelers
    • Hepatitis B
    • Malaria
    • Rabies
    • Yellow Fever

Read more about travel in Oman at the CDC website: https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/destinations/traveler/none/oman/ (Last accessed: Aug. 7, 2017)

1985 (June) – EMS planning first initiated by government

1986 – Formation of EMS national committee

1991 – Public Authority of Ambulance Services (PAAS) established

2000 – program reactivated under Royal Oman Police (ROP)

  • Joint committee between ROP and MOH formed for development of modern EMS system

2001 – Ambulance Division Project Committee formed

  • Group of Omani MDs and RNs from various specialties sent to Ronald Regan Institute of Emergency Medicine to formulate advanced emergency medical care training program
  • Trained as instructors and set standards for Omani EMS

2004 – April 6th: EMS System officially launched

  • Personnel qualified to AEMT level
  • Scope originally directed towards trauma and injuries
    • Has since expanded to all medical emergencies

The Royal Oman Police oversee emergency medical services and transport by ambulance in Oman through the Public Authority for Civil Defense and Ambulance.

SCOREBOARD

% of Seriously Injured Transported by Ambulance in Oman, 2013

50-74%

[Source: 2013 Global Status Report on Road Safety, WHO]

Road Traffic Injury Deaths, 2015
(per 100,000 population)

[Source: 2015 Global Status Report on Road Safety, WHO]

Reported Homicides, 2012
(per 100,000 population)

[Source: 2014 Global Status Report on Violence Prevention, WHO-UNDP]

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