ASTANA – Health ministers of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) signed a memorandum on April 7, transforming Kazakhstan’s National Coordination Center for Emergency Medicine into a single platform for cooperation, reported the Central Communications Service.
Photo credit: Central Communications Service
The center will ensure the delivery of emergency medical care on time during emergency situations, pandemics, and man-made disasters.
Kazakh Health Minister Akmaral Alnazarova spoke about the country’s air ambulance service, which conducts over 2,000 flights a year to transport patients within the country and abroad. Helicopters are currently stationed in 15 regions, and two more will be added by the end of the year.
“Today, we are planning the first international air ambulance flight to South Korea for a citizen who is in critical condition and will be transferred to a clinic in Almaty. Unlike many countries, our air ambulance services are fully state-funded and free of charge, and each flight means the lives of our citizens are saved,” Alnazarova said.
Yerzhan Adilbekov, the center’s chairman, noted that this center will serve as a platform for joint training of OTS specialists.
“We have already agreed with our Uzbek colleagues to host masterclasses at our simulation center, where emergency doctors will be trained to provide medical care according to world standards. Our center also has a national stroke center, which coordinates emergency care to patients in case of strokes. We plan to expand into emergency care in obstetrics, toxicology, and other fields,” he said.
The center is a multifunctional hub coordinating medical aviation, ambulance services, and hospital admissions. It includes a 250-bed hospital and nine clinical centers. Primary services include inpatient care, air medical transport, and clinical and consultative diagnostics.
