التحليل المكاني لمواقع مراكز الإسعاف على الطرق السريعة بمنطقة القصيم

الملخص EN

This research deals with the locations of the nine ambulance service centers for highways in Al-Qassim region, distributed on three highways with a total length of 521 km, namely: Riyadh Al-Qassim Highway, Madinah Al-Qassim Highway, Hail Al-Qassim Highway.

The study aims to assess the current status of the locations of ambulance centers on the highways in Al-Qassim according to the planning standards for the sites of external ambulance centers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which are specified at 50 km for each center, determine the pattern of the distribution of these sites, identify the amount of response time taken for the ambulance service and evaluate its conformity with the standard the global estimated eight minutes for ambulance centers.

To achieve this, the study used geographic information systems by analyzing the scope of influence to measure the standard of distributing the sites of ambulance centers, in addition to analyzing the neighborhood link to measure the pattern of the distribution of the sites of ambulance centers on the highways in the region, and the standard distance analysis to identify the concentration and spread of the sites of ambulance centers in the study area.

The study found that all highways in Al-Qassim region well cover their service range according to the site criterion estimated at 50 km, with an overlap in the coverage areas of the sites of ambulance centers, which indicates the complementarity and equivalence of the distribution of ambulance centers sites along the highways.

When studying the locations of the ambulance centers for the border area of the highways in Al-Qassim, it became clear that the centers› service was integrated in the two regions of Riyadh in the Umm Sidra Center and Medina in the Al-Humeij Center, while the matter differed in the region of Hail, as it was found that there is an area deprived of ambulance service located on Al-Qassim Hail highway belonging to the Shannan center.

The study showed a pattern of regular distribution of the sites of ambulance centers in the region according to the neighborhood link index at an indication of 1.5, which confirms the efficiency of the Saudi Red Crescent Authority in Al-Qassim region and its ability to make the distribution regular and fair on the highways in the region.

Finally, the study showed that the response time in ambulance centers is inconsistent with the international standard of response time estimated at eight minutes, and in light of this, the study recommends trying to reduce the response time at all ambulance centers and approaching the global standard, and reviewing the border area between Hail and Al-Qassim regions, as the study demonstrated the existence of a deprived area affiliated to Al-Shanan Center in Hail Region.