For providing immediate help to women requiring urgent medical attention, pink ambulance service has started in Dubai. For this, four women dressed in pink remain on standby 12 hours a day, seven days a week, to come to the aid of members of the fairer sex.
These four women comprise two medics and two drivers. The staff specialise in obstetrics and gynaecology and paediatrics, and they refer to each other — and their patients — as ‘sisters’.
The government run initiative operates in the district of Deira. According to Arab Muslim societal beliefs, women are more comfortable in the company of female medics as they can easily relate their problems.
Maria Lagbes, a medic in the Women Responders team, said, “ The ambulance service has already helped improve patient care. Female patients, especially in this country, are more hesitant when there are male medics around.”
She added, “I can tell the difference, having worked before with a male partner and now with a female partner. I think an all-female team can provide more efficient medical service here.”
The pilot project is initially targeting Deira, a bustling, old district of a city state known globally for its modern opulence. The next step is to expand to Bur Dubai, another of Dubai’s older quarters that lies across the Dubai Creek.