If you have a medical emergency while in Oman, you can just turn up at the Khoula Hospital A&E department to be seen by a doctor. You may then be transferred to any private hospital of your choosing for further specialist treatment if required. Charges depend upon what kind of treatment you receive, but are not cheap, regardless of which medical centre you choose. A consultation with a doctor will set you back around RO 20, even before any medication or treatment is dispensed. Medical insurance is a must.

The ambulance service in Oman is fairly new and the fleet of vehicles with trained staff is still relatively small. Response times are not published so it’s difficult to say how reliable a service it actually is. This may be due in part to the fact that other road users do not automatically move out of the way to let an ambulance through the traffic, or are already blocking the emergency lane. Some of the hospitals and clinics have their own ambulance service but again, may take some time to reach you. The golden rule is never to attempt to move an injured person, but in a place where ambulance response times are slow, you may have to weigh up the risks and decide whether it would be better to transport the victim to hospital in your own car.