ABU DHABI //On the third floor of the headquarters of the Health Authority-Abu Dhabi, eight LCD screens line a nondescript room staffed around the clock.
Four of the screens, in what is clearly a command centre, are tuned to news channels: two Arabic-language channels and two English. Soon, these screens will provide CCTV images of emergency room entrances at major hospitals across the emirate.
Of the other four screens, one is a map of the emirate that can be adjusted to show the location of all healthcare facilities, from large-scale hospitals to tiny clinics. Another monitors the weather. The remaining two are tuned in to the emergency rooms and critical wards of every public and private hospital in the emirate. Detailed charts show which patients are occupying which beds, and for what ailments.
The details are so precise, in fact, that Dr Ajith George is prompted to chuckle. "We know more about what is going on in the hospitals than the people in the hospitals themselves," he said.
Dr George is the director of the emergency response and disaster management operations centre at Haad, and a consultant in emergency management. He makes it his job to know "how to get the right patient to the right hospital at the right time and for the right treatment", whenever a large-scale incident occurs that involves a lot of casualties.
Haad formed the disaster management centre in 2008 following so-called Fog Tuesday, when four people were killed and hundreds injured in a 200-car pile-up on the Dubai-Abu Dhabi road. The need to have someone co-ordinate in the aftermath of a large accident became apparent, said Dr George. And although the police and ambulances are usually the first on the scene, the operations centre co-ordinates "command and control" in terms of healthcare.
"We look at the full spectrum of the human being's health needs, from the pre-hospital aspect in the ambulance, to the hospitals and pharmacies and laboratories and even mortuary requirements," Dr George said. "We monitor the resources of the emirate that are relevant for the incident that took place, so we can provide the right kind of timely help."
The operations centre steps in when an incident threatens to overwhelm the resources of the nearest healthcare facility.
So, for example, if two buses carrying 20 passengers each collide near a facility that can treat 10 patients, the operations centre will create a plan of action to alert nearby facilities. Doctors will be called in, ambulances will be directed to hospitals and overburdening any one facility will be avoided.
Other events also mobilise the operations centre: threats of infectious illness, such as the recent spread of swine flu and bird flu, or a warning of cholera or rabies that might spread quickly. Partnering with larger organisations, such as the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company and the Abu Dhabi Airports Company, means the operations centre can be available when dealing with incidents such as an oil spill, plane crash or bomb threat.
The centre's biggest partner, however, is the Abu Dhabi Police.
Col Mohammed al Nuaimi, the director of emergency management and public safety at the police, said the help provided by the operations centre was "invaluable".
"They allow us to do our jobs easier when we co-operate during big accidents, because they have so much more information on the healthcare services and facilities in the emirate," he said.
"When there are so many injured, we need to take into consideration hospital capacities at the moment of the accident, and they are the ones that have the information. They know the resources and staff available, how much hospitals can take, where to send casualties to give them the most benefit; they help us co-ordinate."
Col al Nuaimi emphasised the centre exists for major events, such as fires in buildings or an accident that occurred on the E-11 near Al Samha last month, where 127 cars were involved in a pile-up and 59 people were injured.
"We all have the same goal: to control these accidents, to limit the burden on the hospitals, to get patients to the right hospital as soon as possible, and we need them to direct that flow," he said.
Amro Abbas, 42, from Egypt, was involved in the crash, as was his wife, Hemmat Mustafa, 40. They were some of the first patients to be taken to Al Rahba Hospital.
"It felt like there was no time from when the accident occurred and when the ambulance showed up," Mr Abbas said. "It was so fast and organised and we were taken to the hospital immediately. I did not even know that Al Rahba was near us; I was so afraid we'd have to take the drive back to Abu Dhabi."
Getting the patient to the right facility that can provide appropriate care, without having to transfer that patient after stabilising him or her, was key, said Dr George.
"That is how we can increase the probability of survival," he said. "The earlier we are notified, the sooner we are able to put facilities on standby and look at the situation and know what needs to be done.
"Our job is to command and control, and when we do our job well, with the help of our partners, we do it very well," he said.