The Communications Regulatory Authority (CRA) has granted Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) Ambulance Service a temporary authorisation to install and use a new Emergency Warning System (EWS). The temporary authorisation for the EWS issued by CRA is the first of its kind in the region. The system helps alert drivers in front of an ambulance.
The Ambulance Service can now install and use the system on a number of HMC ambulances for a trial run. The system mechanism is based on transmitting alerts to drivers who are tuned at the time to FM radio stations and are up to 300 metres in front of the ambulance. The alert will be displayed as a text message on radio screens of their vehicle. The system will interrupt the radio broadcast and switch over automatically to an unused channel enabling drivers to listen to an audio message. The messages will be mostly in Arabic and English.
The new system gives drivers more time to move safely out of the way of an approaching ambulance and helps speed up the ambulances’ response times to medical emergency cases. The technology has been used with success in Australia and parts of Europe. HMC’s temporary authorisation is valid for three months following which CRA will conduct a final assessment to explore the possibility of issuing a permanent authorisation.