National Ambulance Receives International Accreditation for its High Standards of Pre-Hospital Care in Northern Emirates

Abu Dhabi, 18 April 2015: National Ambulance has been awarded Joint Commission International accreditation (JCI) for its high quality Emergency Patient Transport service in the Northern Emirates. The award makes National Ambulance the only pre-hospital service in the UAE to have achieved this prestigious international standard.

JCI is an international standard for quality healthcare and patient safety. It requires health care organisations to meet exacting performance standards across all of their operations including clinical governance and administration. The standards are respected across the world and reflect the achievement of high quality and best practices in patient care. The award swiftly follows JCI accreditation for National Ambulance’s private client provision.

Commenting on this landmark achievement, Mohamed Ibrahim Al Ameri, Chairman of National Ambulance Board of Directors said: “The successful accreditation of our service in the Northern Emirates is another significant milestone in the pursuit of excellence National Ambulance has embarked upon since its inception.”

On what the accreditation meant to the organisation, Ahmed Saleh Al Hajeri Deputy CEO of National Ambulance said: “We are proud of this important achievement as we are the only pre-hospital service in the UAE to have reached this standard; reflecting our long-standing commitment to providing quality in emergency pre-hospital care. This commitment is demonstrated in our utilisation of advanced technologies, the most modern vehicle fleet and the retention of a well-trained team that is dedicated to providing excellence in all we do.”

National Ambulance commenced operations in the Northern Emirates to provide round-the-clock, rapid emergency response to patients across UAE’s Northern Emirates.

The JCI process has been a rigorous assessment of all clinical, operational and administrative functions within National Ambulance. Independent external auditors from the Joint Commission conducted a detailed study of the Northern Emirates visiting selected sites to assess compliance against the standards. The process took place over a week period and involved all levels of the company including senior management.

Al Hajeri added: “While we are proud of the achievements we have made so far, our colleagues in Civil Defence and Ministry of the Interior, who work beside us every day, enable us to achieve our mission. Together we are part of a team providing the best emergency service to the community.”

In a period of 12 months, National Ambulance, through its eight key ambulance points and twenty-two sub-locations, has responded to 30,600 calls to its Ambulance Communications Centre and transported over 33,500 patients.