Dubai: When Dubai Corporation for Ambulatory Services (DCAS) recently received a call to transport an Emirati woman to a public hospital, little did its staff realise how different the case would be. The woman, suffering from kidney disease and a host of other problems, weighed 400kg. Unable to move her into an ambulance on their own, the health authorities had to request the Civil Defence department to pitch in. With the help of 15 personnel, it took five hours for the woman to be finally transferred.
The woman, considered the heaviest person to be hospitalised in Dubai, may have been an extreme case. But there are a growing number of obese patients lower down the scales that have prompted the ambulance bosses to launch a special vehicle for them. The bariatric ambulance caters exclusively to patients weighing over 150kg. |
