Hamad Medical Corporation adds new ambulance service to its fleet

The ambulances have already been deployed across the country, including for Qatar National Sports Day. Over a 12-month period HMC is deploying 100 new Mercedes Sprint ambulances equipped with a full suite of Physio-Control emergency medical response solutions, including the LUCAS Chest Compression System, LIFEPAK 15 monitor/defibrillator, LIFENET System data network and LIFEPAK 1000 automated external defibrillator (AED).

"The HMC Ambulance Service is the first national ambulance service to fully implement these cutting edge technologies across a whole fleet of vehicles," said Dr. Robert Campbell Owen, Chief Executive Officer of the Ambulance Service. "Combined, these technologies are helping the HMC Ambulance Service and hospital-based care teams deliver advanced levels of care, helping improve patient outcomes in Qatar. The Ambulance Service aims to continuously evolve our service to meet the needs of our community, and the introduction of these new vehicles is a testament to that and our commitment to saving lives."

LUCAS is an external, mechanical device that provides chest compressions during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in accordance with the 2010 American Heart Association/European Resuscitation Council Guidelines. LUCAS frees-up rescuers to perform other critical tasks and improves Ambulance Service staff safety, and unlike humans performing CPR, never gets tired.

"This represents a major commitment by HMC to provide the highest level of patient care and is a testament to the strong partnership between Physio-Control and HMC, dating back to 1996," said Mathieu Badard, vice president and general manager, Europe, Middle East and Asia, at Physio-Control, Inc. "In addition, our Qatar distribution partner, Aamal Medical, has been instrumental in providing HMC with first-rate training and service support for the new equipment."

The technology fitted in HMC's new ambulances also includes:
• LIFEPAK 15 monitor/defibrillator -, the 15 offers advanced non-invasive monitoring parameters, including 12-lead ECG capture and transmission, temperature, EtCO2, carbon monoxide, SpO2, methemoglobin , and the only multi-parameter defibrillator available with the capability to deliver shocks up to 360-joules
• LIFENET System- a comprehensive cloud-based data network that helps Ambulance Service and hospital teams work more efficiently by sharing critical chest pain patient data to reduce time-to-treatment, and enabling device software and configuration fleet-wide
• LIFEPAK 1000 AED - an easy-to-use automatic external defibrillator (AED) designed for rugged environments.