Active testing has been one of the most important steps that the Saudi authorities have taken to limit the spread of the coronavirus, especially in crowded urban areas.
Different sectors are coordinating efforts to provide healthcare and protective services, including establishing a field hospital.
The Saudi Ministry of Defense established the first field hospital as part of a wider effort to provide services. The relevant bodies in Makkah completed the mobile field hospital that was prepared to treat and isolate cases.
The hospital aims to receive confirmed and suspected cases, as well as critical cases, especially from the isolated neighborhoods near the hospital.
Officials told Asharq Al-Awsat during its visit to the facility spanning more than 2,000 square meters, that the hospital consists of eight wings and 100 beds, including four ICU beds.
Dr. Al-Baraaa Kadhem, director of the mobile hospital, tells Asharq Al-Awsat that the hospital consists of six units, two wards each, and a division for digital imaging that is connected to all hospitals in order to rapidly interpret test results for those suspected to have the virus as well as those confirmed to have it.
According to the director, the hospital has a lab and pharmacy, in addition to a division that is heavily equipped to carry out surgeries.
The director of the wards in the mobile hospital, Dr. Ibrahim Jawahirji, tells Asharq Al-Awsat that their work in the hospital starts whenever a suspected case is confirmed to be positive through triage and clinical examination.
The wings are then prepared to receive the patient in compliance with the highest standards. Dr. Jawahirji adds, “despite being a field hospital, it operates within the standards that ensure patient safety, to an extent that it is indistinguishable from traditional hospitals”.
The critical care unit is of utmost readiness in case of any deterioration in the health condition of a patient, according to Dr. Abrar Mohammad, director of the nursing services in the hospital. Dr. Mohammad adds, “The cardiopulmonary resuscitation room is equipped to receive the most severe cases”.
According to Engineer Khaled al-Harthi, the field hospital was designed in compliance with the highest medical standards by the Saudi Armed Forces. Al-Harthi explained that the hospital was very meticulously prepared by the Armed Forces, in terms of equipment, medical supplies and ventilation.
It took around 60 hours to set up the hospital, weather-proof it and install a ventilation system.
