Aspen Medical has further expanded its presence in the Middle East through its affiliate, the National Ambulance Company (NAC), winning the exclusive contract to provide ambulance services in all but one of the seven emirates which make up the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The UAE is the second largest economy in the Middle East and has a population of 9 million.
Aspen’s affiliate company has been providing ambulance services in Abu Dhabi since 2012 and the contract has now been extended to the emirates of Sharjah, Ajman, Umm al-Quwain, Fujairah and Ras Al Khaimah with effect from 23rd February 2014. The extended service was launched by His Highness Shiekh Saif, the UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior.
&The service will initially comprise of 20 new ambulances complete with all medical consumables, defibrillators and automatic external compression. 179 new clinical staff will provide the service on a 24-7 basis whilst a computer- aided dispatch system using a criteria-based dispatch algorithm will prioritise calls.
Dr Andrew Walker, Chairman of Aspen Medical said, “We are honoured that the Government of the UAE has shown such a high level of confidence and satisfaction in the pre-hospital service the NAC have been providing in Abu Dhabi that it has been extended across the country. We are delighted that our footprint in the Gulf region continues to grow by providing innovative healthcare solutions and a quality service to our clients in the Government, Oil & Gas and Defence sectors.”
In September 2013, the company began providing Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) to all subsidiary companies in the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), one of the world’s top ten oil companies.
In addition, Aspen has been providing battlefield casualty first aid training at Al Minhad Air Base in the UAE to Australian Defence Force personnel and civilians prior to them deploying to Afghanistan. To date the company has provided this life-saving training to more than 16,000 individuals. In 2013, Aspen delivered mobile deployable medical facilities to the UAE military. These facilities were placed in use almost immediately in support of humanitarian operations.
Aspen Medical was the National Winner of the Health & Biotechnology category at the Australian Export Awards 2013.