Dubai gets Benz medical busses

A signing ceremony was held on 22 July 2008 between Gargash Enterprises, the authorized general distributor of Mercedes-Benz in Dubai, Sharjah and Northern Emirates, and Cytomed Middle East, (Sharjah-UAE & Doha-Qatar), the main supplier of EMS equipments and services, commemorating the agreement between the two companies to provide the Government of Dubai with three fully equipped mobile hospital buses.

The agreement, which signifies an important milestone in Dubai's medical industry, was signed by Jabbar Gargash, Executive Director of Gargash Enterprises, and Abdul Aziz Al Midfa, the Chairman of Cytomed Middle East.

This initiative was put into action when a preliminary agreement was signed between Gargash Enterprises and the Dubai Government confirming that the dealership would supply three Mercedes-Benz buses for this mission, which would make Dubai the second city in the world to introduce such medical facilities.

During the ceremony, Gargash stated “As an Emarati, I am proud to see such buses available among the busy streets of our city. An accident may happen at any given moment, so with these buses spread around Dubai, the time it takes for a professional medical team to treat someone with an injury will be significantly reduced. In terms of medical service, experience, and know how, partnering with Cytomed provides the priceless value needed in keeping our service to the community at a benchmark level and in line with the city's rapid development.''

Abdul Aziz Al Midfa continued “It's an honor to serve our country with the State of Art Mobile Hospital Buses, where the rapid expansion of growth in all aspects of life apparently show the need for advanced paramedic technology, training, supply and consultancies, aiming to meet the expectations of the Dubai's community including residents and visitors.''

Cytomed Middle East was established in 2003 with an aim to offer complete solutions in the fields of EMS, Diagnostic Laboratories, Veterinary Laboratories, Research Centers and Hospitals. The company's success comes from the ability of providing turnkey solutions through its two divisions, the EMS Division and the Laboratory Division. The EMS Division provides consultancies, products and trainings in the Emergency Medical Services field and Disaster Management. This means creating a whole flow that includes everything from manufacturing and supplying ambulance solutions to training staff on how to use its technology.

The Laboratory Division of Cytomed allows the company to represent laboratories products manufacturers from all over the world. Along with consultation for lab, the Laboratory Division provides complete services starting from lab designing, furnishing, instrumentations and consumables.

The RTA currently employs Mercedes-Benz Citaro buses for public transport; however, the Ambulance Buses will feature a more sophisticated and fully customized setup. The two 12 meters long Solo models and the 18 meter Articulated model will all be equipped with a variety of medical features including intensive care units.

The 12 meter long Citaro buses, also known as “Mass Casualty Buses'', will be designed using two different purpose-built layouts. In the first layout, the bus will hold up to 15 patients, an operation theatre, and still have enough room for additional 10 passenger seats allocated to slightly injured people. The second layout of the Mass Casualty Bus will hold up to 38 patients along with 7 intermediate care units, an intensive care unit, and up to 30 passenger seats allocated to the slightly injured personals. For situations that require a bit of everything, the 18 meter long Articulate Version of the Citaro G Mass Casualty Ambulance Bus will create a space suitable for 29 patients, 12 intermediate care units, 2 intensive care units, an operation theater, and no less than 14 passenger seats for the slightly injured one. Each bus will also have extra room allocated for paramedics, medical equipment storage, X-ray machines, and stretchers.

One of the advantages that come with the mobility of the Citaro buses is that they can work together as a complete mobile hospital unit when placed in the same vicinity, or they can each be positioned in different areas within Dubai for maximum effectiveness. As part of the agreement, an EMS German Consultant, Dr. Martin von Berg, will conduct a full disaster management training program through different simulated scenarios where the course will highlight the buses' capabilities and familiarize the staff on how to operate these units.

The three buses will be operational units under the Center of Ambulance Services by September 2009.