Shaikh Saif visits accident victims in hospital

Abu Dhabi: Lieutenant General Shaikh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Interior visited the Ghantoot accident victims in hospitals on Wednesday and praised Emergency Unit specialists.

He toured Al Mafraq Hospital, followed by Al Rahba Hospital and Shaikh Khalifa Medical City (SKMC).

Sheikh Saif spoke to medical specialists at Al Mafraq, followed by Al Rahba Hospital. He asked for a medical report with regards to the exact cases admitted, discharged and a conclusion of each case, especially the critical ones.

“It is very important to learn from this accident. I have complete confidence and no doubt that the hospitals responded quickly to the injured cases admitted and hope no more accidents similar to this tragic incident happen again,'' said Shaikh Saif.

Dr. Nabil Al Khouri, Head of the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), Al Rahba, told Shaikh Saif that medical specialists have already met to discuss outcomes of the patients admitted and are working on a formal report with regards to each condition admitted.

Twenty-three year old Juma Ali Mesmari, a government employee, was sitting in the passenger seat when the accident happened. His brother, who was driving the vehicle, was not injured. Their car was one of the first cars in the incident to collide with another vehicle due to lack of visibility from the fog and a slippery road. The car burned down instantly. Luckily, Masmar is suffering minor bone injuries and will be discharged soon.

Anudeep, who is admitted to the ICU unit. According to John Beatty, Nurse Manager, ICU, Anudeep was admitted to the ER at 7:35 am on Tuesday and transferred to the ICU at 10:00 am.

Anudeep is a 35 year old Bachelor from India and works as a lead inspector in the Oilfield Service. He was driving his vehicle accompanied by co-workers who are not suffering from any injuries.

“I was on my way to work when the accident happened. All I remember is a pick up truck ramming into my car and me ending up in hospital. The accident happened too fast for me to remember anything. I have a cousin in Dubai who has already visited me yesterday,'' continued Anudeep, who was barely able to talk.

Nurses said he may be discharged from ICU and transferred to the male ward.

According to Eisa Al Rumaithy, Director of the Medical Middle Region, a total of 161 patients have so far been received by Al Rahba Hospital out of which five have been discharged yesterday. Another nine patients who were discharged on Tuesday itself, visited the hospital to undergo check-ups as many of them were complaining of minor pain.

At Al Rahba Hospital, added Al Rumaithy, there are currently three cases that are considered critical (red), two Indians and one Algerian; 27 cases are moderate (yellow) and are mostly suffering from bone and limb fractures; 127 cases are minor (green) and three cases, a Syrian, Pakistani and Sudanese have been reported as among the deceased (black) on the accident site.

Dr. Al Khouri told Gulf News that there are currently three critical conditions in the ICU. The patients are mostly suffering from a severe concussion, chest trauma, long bone fractures and severe head injuries. Two of these patients are on mechanical ventilation.

“We have two Indians and one Algerian admitted in our ICU unit. The second Indian, has moderate injuries in his skull base fracture, cervical fractures, neck and vertebrae fractures and temporary damage to the left eye. He has to be under observation till he is stable once again,'' said Al Khouri.

According to Dr. Jamal Abbas, Head of the Emergency Department (ER) and Chairman of the Disaster Committee, this is the biggest accident witnessed by Al Rahba Hospital medics.

He said that there have been two burn cases admitted to the hospital, one was transferred to Zayed Military Hospital (ZMH) and the other is suffering from second degree burns. “He is still under observation and is not as critical. Both of these patients had their cars burnt during the incident.''

Figures received from the Abu Dhabi Health Services Company (SEHA) show so far that ZMH has one patient with a burn case who was transferred from Al Rahba Tuesday morning. SKMC has so far received a total of five cases, two admitted and three have already been treated and discharged. Al Mafraq Hospital has received 174 cases so far, two critical (red), 45 moderate (yellow), 85 minor (green) and 25 cases have been discharged.