Manama: Health authorities in the northern Saudi city of Hael have honoured a local nurse for saving a young man who was bleeding to death following a horrific accident.
The act holds a special significance in a conservative community as the nurse had to be sufficiently brave to break deep-held taboos that severely restricted contacts between unrelated men and women.
Alia Salem Al Simmari was riding with her husband on the Hael-Madina highway when they saw the young victim bleeding.
She, alongside her husband, provided the necessary first aid assistance to keep the accident victim alive until an ambulance crew arrived and took him to King Khalid Hospital.
“The quick thinking and laudable behaviour by the nurse to save the life of a young man stemmed from her honourable humanitarian attitude,” Abdul Mohsen Ammar, the general director of health affairs in Hael, said, quoted by local news site Sabq.
“Alia was a bright example of the dedication of our medical and paramedical staff. She richly deserves to be thanked and lauded,” he said on Wednesday.
Alia said that she felt it was her duty to help the victim and anyone who needed assistance.
“It is our humanitarian duty and I am pleased with the recognition,” she said. “It will certainly serve as a great motivator to all staff in the medical field to exert greater efforts anywhere anytime.”
In January last year, another Saudi nurse was hailed a hero after she lived through similar circumstances and rescued a young man following a road accident.
Salwa Juma Al Khobairi was in a car on the Madina-Khaybar highway in western Saudi Arabia when she saw a crowd of people around a man who was bleeding as a result of an accident.
Social restrictions
Despite the social restrictions on the presence of women among men, Salwa got out of the car and forced her way through the crowd of onlookers until she reached the man and administered the urgently needed medical care.
The nurse’s prompt intervention and efforts saved the young man in his 20s well before medics reached the site of the accident, witnesses said.
“All those who witnessed the nurse’s behaviour were deeply moved by her courage and her professionalism,” Marzouq Al Arfi, a Saudi national who was present at the site, told a local daily.
The young man was eventually transferred to a local hospital for further treatment.
The mayor of Khaybar, an oasis city around 150 kilometres north of Madina, honoured Salwa.
Businessman Awad Al Motlaq Al Hamazani offered her 10,000 riyals (Dh9,793) in tribute to her brave and prompt reaction, saying that he appreciated her role as a Saudi citizen and a sister in providing the necessary care to save a young man despite challenges.
In July, three Saudi nurses were praised for their prompt action that helped save a young man gravely injured in a road accident.
Waad Al Enezi, Amal Al Enezi and Bodoor Al Ruwaili happened to be near the scene of a terrible accident in which the unconscious victim was believed to be dying while onlookers gathered around him.
However, the three nurses, overcoming deep-rooted social inhibitions that severely restricted going near male strangers, forced their way through the crowd and promptly provided first aid assistance and performed life-saving cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on the victim. The nurses remained with the victim until an ambulance arrived to take him to hospital.
The rare public honours for Saudi nurses are seen as a ray of hope for the thousands of Saudi women in the field who have to confront challenging misconceptions and negative social attitudes towards their profession.
Nurses have often complained that several segments of society have a hard time accepting that their daughters take up nursing as a full-time profession.
“Despite all efforts by the health ministry to adjust working schedules and hours of the women nurses, many families resent having their daughters do night or evening shifts,” one nurse said. “Unfortunately, for many people, these shifts are the gateway to divorce and to the family destruction for married nurses and to a no-husband status for those longing to get married,” she said.
