Construction site stretchers in Qatar: matching the format to the project

Start with the project's first aid needs assessment

The equipment list should come from the project HSE plan and the requirements that apply to the site. Qatar's Ministerial Decision No. 16 of 2005 on medical care for workers asks employers to keep a stocked first aid box at each work location and one box for each group of 5 to 25 workers, to train a worker in first aid, to appoint a full-time nurse above 100 workers, and to provide a clinic with at least a doctor and a nurse plus a first aid room above 500 workers. The contents table attached to the Arabic text lists a stretcher (نقالة) and limb splints (جبائر) among the first aid box items, without naming a type or quantity. We read that table in a hosted copy of the Arabic text rather than the official gazette, so confirm the current official text and how it applies to your project with your HSE lead.

The UK Health and Safety Executive's needs-assessment guidance is a useful framework for the rest of the list: it asks employers to consider the hazards, the size of the workforce, work patterns, remote workers, how close sites are to emergency medical services and whether people work on shared sites. Those last two points matter most for Gulf construction, where several subcontractors often share one plot and road projects stretch far from a hospital.

Sources: Arabic text of Qatar Ministerial Decision No. 16 of 2005 on medical care for workers, including the first aid box contents table (copy hosted by the American University in Cairo, Center for Migration and Refugee Studies) · Gulf Labour Markets and Migration: English summary of Qatar Decision No. 16 of 2005 on medical care for workers · UK Health and Safety Executive: assess your first aid needs

Match the stretcher format to the route

Walk the route from each work area to the point where an ambulance or site clinic takes over: stairwells and cores on a tower, scaffold access, trenches and excavations, and long stretches of open ground on road works. Then compare the catalogue formats against that route. None of the listings approves a stretcher for crane lifting, rope lowering or stair evacuation, so if your plan relies on any of these, say so and ask for the manufacturer documentation for the exact model.

Sources: GCC Stretchers DW-BS003 basket stretcher specifications · GCC Stretchers DW-F002 folding stretcher · GCC Stretchers DW-F009 folding stretcher chair · GCC Stretchers DW-SC003 scoop stretcher

Plan supplies per welfare point, not per project

Contractors usually place a first aid kit at each welfare point, gate or work front, so quantities follow the site layout as much as the headcount. Two catalogue items fit that kind of restocking. DW-FA012 aluminium mouldable splints come in 11 × 45 cm and 11 × 91 cm lengths at 100 per carton and 11 × 61 cm at 120 per carton. ICP001 instant cold packs are 100 g each, 99 per carton, with a carton of 47 × 30 × 24 cm.

Work out the quantity per point first, multiply by the number of points across each project phase, and round to cartons only after that. Your first aid training provider can advise on the splint mix; the catalogue gives sizes, not clinical guidance.

• Number of welfare points, gates and work fronts per phase.
• Stretcher model and quantity per point.
• Splint lengths and cold pack quantity per kit, then cartons per project.

Sources: GCC Stretchers DW-FA012 aluminium mouldable splint · GCC Stretchers ICP001 instant cold pack · Construction and infrastructure at GCC Stretchers

Keep records the main contractor can audit

Large Qatar developments set their own first aid procedures for contractors. Lusail's published construction safety procedure on first aid, for example, asks for kits in strategic locations including HSE vehicles, a designated person to inspect and restock first aid boxes at least monthly using a checklist, and at least one first aider plus one more for every 25 employees. That is one developer's 2016 procedure, cited as an example of what a main contractor may ask for, not a national rule.

Ask for the documents your HSE team will file with the equipment: the specification and instructions for each stretcher model, and batch and expiry details for cold packs so the monthly check has something to record. The supplier confirms what documentation exists for the exact products in the quotation.

Sources: Lusail construction safety management procedure: First Aid (LUS-HSE-WG3-446-002.02, Rev. 2, 2016) · GCC Stretchers DW-BS003 basket stretcher specifications

What to send with a Qatar construction enquiry

Send the project name and location, the number of welfare points per phase, the route constraints (stairwells, scaffold, trenches, distance to the nearest clinic), and the quantity of each model. Main contractors can list subcontractor packages or several plots in one request.

For example: “Please quote [quantity] DW-BS003 basket stretchers, [quantity] DW-F002 folding stretchers, [quantity] cartons of DW-FA012 splints in [length] and [quantity] cartons of ICP001 cold packs for [project], [area], Qatar. The basket stretcher will be [carried only / lifted or lowered by (method)]. Please confirm the specification, instructions and documentation supplied with each model.” Availability, delivery and documentation are confirmed in the quotation.

Sources: Qatar equipment supply enquiries · Construction and infrastructure at GCC Stretchers · Request a quote