MAKKAH: Some 1,400 surgeries for Hajj pilgrims have been performed so far this month by Health Ministry hospitals in Makkah and Madinah, the ministry said, adding that its hospitals offer various specialized services.
Up until Wednesday, 147 cardiac catheterizations, seven open heart surgeries, 901 renal dialysis and 42 endoscopic procedures were performed.
The number of pilgrims who went to emergency rooms reached 11,837, while 17,974 went to clinics.
Each Hajj season the ministry implements the Save a Life program, which offers free health services including open heart surgery, cardiac catheterization, dialysis, endoscopy and childbirth delivery.
The ministry is working on activating field-based medical services and emergency rooms during Hajj. In this context, it has prepped 100 small ambulances that work as intensive care mobile units to handle emergencies, as well as 80 high-tech large ambulances.
The ministry said it is deploying all its human resources to help pilgrims, appointing some 29,000 medical professionals for this Hajj season.

No-Tobacco Campaign
intensifies efforts to raise awareness among pilgrims
The 2017 Hajj No-Tobacco Campaign groups affiliated to the Anti-Smoking Committee in Makkah on Thursday visited the headquarters of the six guidance and information centers affiliated to the Hajj Ministry, in coordination with the ministry’s branch in Makkah.
The aim was to cooperate and benefit from the awareness programs of the No-Tobacco Campaign during this Hajj season.
The groups visited some of the centers, met with their visitors and offered them awareness programs and health care instructions on the dangers of smoking.