HMC promotes safe driving practices at GCC Traffic Week

This year’s GCC Traffic Week activities, which kicked off earlier this week at Darb Al Saai under the theme “Your Life is a Trust”, are being organised by Qatar's General Directorate of Traffic. Ahmed al-Bakri, Operations Manager at HMC’s Ambulance Service said his organisation is showcasing their latest state-of-the-art ambulances that are specially designed to safely move through traffic. “While we want to get to any patient in need of urgent care as fast as possible, we are very mindful of our own safety and that of the patient being transported, as well as the other road users,” he said.The official pointed out that the Ambulance Service will also promote their ongoing public awareness campaigns – ‘know the 5 to save a life’ and ‘help us help you’ to further educate the public. “We will demonstrate to the public how to conduct basic first aid skills during daily presentations which will also feature lectures on how to stabilise a patient until an ambulance arrives and how to get help in case of an emergency,” al-Bakri added.HMC’s Geriatrics Department is also participating in the activities at Darb Al Saai to raise awareness about the risks to elderly people who may be suffering from dementia and the importance of road safety.Dr Hanadi Khamis al-Hamad, chairperson,Geriatrics Department, explained the importance of family members being vigilant and checking on dementia-related symptoms that may impact a person’s driving ability.“We are offering free health checks at Darb Al Saai during GCC Traffic Week for anyone interested in seeing if their driving capabilities might be impaired due to health conditions. Our professional staff is on hand to provide free advice to visitors,” she said.The Hamad Injury Prevention Programme of the Hamad Trauma Center will host ‘Road Safety for Children’ sessions with students at Darb Al Saai. In addition, an official delegation of senior police officers from GCC Traffic Ministries will visit HMC’s Hamad Trauma Center  on Thursday to learn about the key features of the centre and about the Qatar National Trauma System.