Sharjah Social Service Department launches quick communication service

Sharjah: Sharjah Social Service Department has launched a Quick Communication service, a first-of-its-kind in the country. The new achievement has added to the record of the Department of Social Services in Sharjah, said Ahmed Al Meil, director of the department.

The service can work without the presence of a communication officer to answer calls. Earlier, the same service used to be offered through the 800700 hotline number. Now, under the new system, a caller needs just three seconds to register his or her age, preferred language, emirate from where he or she is calling, his or her gender and whether he or she is at risk or not.

Once these answers are received, the communication system automatically turns to the responsible party. Once the location of the caller is identified, a team moves in immediately to rescue the person who needs help. For example, if the caller is a child, his or her call will get diverted to the department concerned. If the caller is a female, the call will be transferred to the Women’s Protection Centre. The classification of reports will include the following details about the person in distress: Whether he or she is incapacitated, mentally ill, with disabilities, whether a child, woman or an elderly person.

Service development

Following the launch of the new electronic service, the director of the Social Services Department said that the “quick communication” service would ensure a quicker response after a call is transferred to the competent authority. The response time will be no more than one minute.

Database

Al Meil said that the Social Services Department was looking forward to this season to provide a large database to each department and centre affiliated with it. The new system encourages all employees at the department to raise their performance and take advantage of modern technology to provide improved services to the public.