KUWAIT CITY, Oct 1: Dr. Ahmed Al-Shatti, Director of the Medical Emergency Department at the Ministry of Health, announced efforts to develop guidelines for expanding emergency clinics in shopping malls. In a statement to Al-Jarida, Al-Shatti noted that there are currently 10 emergency clinics in malls, with plans to increase that number in the near future. He emphasized that having emergency clinics is a requirement for malls to be part of the health network.

Al-Shatti also revealed ongoing coordination between the Medical Emergency Department and the College of Health Sciences, part of the Public Authority for Applied Education and Training, specifically the Medical Emergency Technician departments. This collaboration aims to provide on-the-job training for students, with the Medical Emergency Department offering trainers and lecturers. He also highlighted that applicants for positions in the Medical Emergency Department must complete at least one academic year of study.

He underscored the significant role paramedics will play in the upcoming Gulf Cup football tournament, which Kuwait will host in December, as well as the ongoing World Cup qualifying matches. One of the key requirements for international match recognition is the presence of paramedics on the field.

Al-Shatti confirmed the Medical Emergency Department's participation in the “Back to School” campaign, a series of media activities organized by the Ministry of Health's media office, targeting students and parents at the start of the school year. The campaign promotes health-related topics such as school bags, healthy meals, school clinics, vaccinations, accidents, and physical fitness. Several awareness videos were produced by the Medical Emergency Department, covering topics like choking, CPR, fractures, bleeding, and asthma attacks, aimed at raising awareness among parents, teachers, and students.

Regarding training, Al-Shatti reported that by last August, the Medical Emergency Department's Training Section had completed four basic first aid courses for 105 medical emergency technicians, trained 76 fire brigade members, and instructed 79 ambulance drivers on operating modern ambulances. Additionally, 141 students from the Public Authority for Applied Education and Training were trained to drive ambulances, and a summer program was organized for 120 male and female students at ambulance centers. Al-Shatti added that 41 emergency medical technicians were trained in collaboration with the Kuwait Institute for Medical Specialties and the Radiation Protection Department. Furthermore, 83 trainees from the Public Authority for Applied Sciences and the National Guard participated in the “3 Minutes Save a Life” program.

In a separate announcement, the Ministry of Health stated that it would host 16 internationally renowned doctors during October as part of the visiting doctors program. These specialists, from countries including the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Greece, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia, cover a range of fields such as neck gland surgery, sleep disorder surgery, burn treatment, cosmetic surgery, laparoscopic gynecological surgery, facial reconstruction, neurological movement disorder treatment, critical care surgery, blood tumor treatment, tumor surgery, spine surgery, and breast, head, neck, and abdominal wall reconstruction surgery. Registration for appointments with visiting doctors can be made through the "Sahl" and "Kuwait Health" applications.