Ambulance services exist, but these are usually controlled by the police (and used primarily for road accidents) or by the state hospitals. If you need to get to hospital quickly, the most reliable method is to use your own transport or go by taxi. This is common in the region. Even the victims of road accidents, if their injuries aren’t too severe, are often bundled into a car or taxi and taken to hospital. Police and emergency services are sometimes equipped with helicopter services, but these are only used for road accidents, beach accidents involving drowning and evacuations from difficult terrain.

On arrival in UAEi, you should immediately take note of the emergency telephone numbers, the location of the major hospitals and their facilities, and the quickest route to the nearest hospital with an accident and emergency department. Your work colleagues can advise you about the best places to go. Keep the telephone number of a taxi service by the telephone in case your own transport is unavailable. Your private doctor will usually make house calls if requested in non-emergency cases.

In the case of a medical emergency, observe the following procedure:

If you’re able to, go directly to the nearest hospital with an accident and emergency department.

If you don’t have your own transport and an ambulance service exists, call the ambulance number. The operator will be able to speak both Arabic and English and will respond in the language that you use. (Although English is widely spoken by the emergency services, telephone operators, etc., it’s useful to know a few appropriate words of Arabic to use if the need arises.) You will be asked to identify yourself and give your address; remember that you might have to give directions, using nearby landmarks rather than the street number. You will also be asked about the type of medical problem. If it’s life-threatening, such as a heart attack or a serious accident, make this clear.

Ask for an expected time of arrival of an ambulance and whether trained medical personnel will be in attendance. The answer might persuade you to call a taxi.

If calling a taxi, make sure that the driver or taxi company understands the urgency of the situation.

Dubai: Ambulance Services

Dubai's ambulance service is run by Dubai Police. To avail of this service, please dial 999.

Two systems are being considered to make it easy for ambulances to reach patients in critical condition.

It was announced on 24th June 2007 that an electronic connection between Dubai Police Command and Control Department and patients in critical condition, will come into effect soon and that work is on to choose between the two ideas of service for heart patients.

One of the systems is an idea from Dubai Police Chief Lieutenant General Dahi Khalfan Tamim, to provide critically ill patients small alarm devices so that they can press a button in case of an emergency. This will alert the staff at the Command and Control Room who will be able to define the location of the patient on the map in the room and an ambulance will be sent to the patient immediately.

The other system works on programming the patient's mobile phone and connecting it to the Command and Control Room.

When the patient presses any button or dials 999, the system will receive an SMS and will refer it to one of the family members and the doctor on duty in the emergency and trauma centre, as well as the nearest ambulance.

"We are currently working on a database with the names of patients in critical condition, especially heart patients, Emiratis and residents, to speed up the arrival of the ambulance, as the paramedics will be fully aware of his or her address and medical condition," Bin Derai said.

The Dubai Ambulance Services Centre last year launched the service of the mobile critical care vehicle. It is equipped to carry heart and blood pressure patients, as well as coma and diabetes patients.

The paramedics in the car are equipped with a wireless device connected to Rashid Hospital which is used to give the doctor in the trauma centre all the information regarding the condition of the patient being transferred.