Hospitals in Bahrain are on high alert and ambulances are being stationed closer to mosques to ensure a rapid response in the event of an emergency, it has emerged.

Staffing is also being stepped up after a spate of terrorist attacks linked to Islamic State (IS) in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Tunisia and Egypt, as well as conflicts in Syria, Yemen and Iraq, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

The country’s medical personnel are primed for any eventuality, Health Ministry Under-Secretary for Hospital Affairs Dr Waleed Al Manea told the GDN.

A decision to station ambulances near places of worship follows suicide bombings at mosques in Saudi Arabia on May 22 and 29, as well as another in Kuwait on June 26.

The Supreme Council for Health yesterday met Interior Ministry and BDF Hospital representatives to assess Bahrain’s ability to cope with a disaster.

“The meeting of the council with the disaster management teams at other government bodies is a routine process, but it is important at this juncture because of what is happening in the GCC these days,” Dr Al Manea told the GDN.

He said Bahrain’s Health Ministry was currently operating at alert level two, with level three being the highest category of threat.

In the event of any emergency he explained that Salmaniya Medical Complex (SMC) would function as a medical command centre, with King Hamad University Hospital and BDF Hospital used as back-up.

“We are concerned about the incidents happening in neigbouring GCC nations, as we are not far from them,” said Dr Al Manea.

“It is important we are ready to face any kind of medical emergency to support the national disaster plan.”

The meeting yesterday was chaired by Supreme Council for Health chairman Dr Shaikh Mohammed bin Abdulla Al Khalifa and attended by Health Ministry Under-Secretary Dr Aysha Mubarak Buanq, as well as representatives from the national emergency teams at the ministries of Interior, Health and the BDF Hospital.

Dr Al Manea, who heads the alert level two command team at the Health Ministry, confirmed SMC’s Accident and Emergency department and operating theatres were on high alert on Friday as part of increased security nationwide.

“The plan was in place as part of nationwide security measures on Friday and this will continue,” he said.

Emergency

“I would not call this unique as this is something like the preparations that we do during the Formula One, for instance.

“Any kind of emergency can happen during such events and we will have additional staff and machinery (ambulances and equipment) in place.

“We will also have private hospitals as back-up to support us on the second and third (alert) levels.”

The GDN reported on Saturday that security was stepped up at mosques across Bahrain on Friday with police out in full force and volunteers helping ensure people’s safety.

Concrete road blocks were deployed in areas considered most at risk, while armed police officers and special forces personnel were deployed on the streets and motorists were prevented from parking close to mosques.

Bahrain has also announced plans to install security cameras at mosques, close places of worship after each prayer session so they can be swept for suspicious objects and take legal action against anyone promoting an extremist agenda.

It follows the deadly bombing at a Shi’ite mosque in Kuwait on June 26, which killed 27 people and injured 227.

Another 24 innocent people were killed in two suicide bombings in Saudi Arabia, one in Qatif on May 22 and another in Dammam on May 29. - TradeArabia News Service