11,964 transportation services for bedridden people and people with disabilities in Sharjah during 2025

The Elderly Services Center of the Department of Social Services in Sharjah provided 11,964 transportation services for bedridden people and people with disabilities to hospitals and medical centers during the year 2025, through the private transportation service that the department launched in January of the same year.
The services were distributed between 11 thousand and 63 recurring cases that benefited from the service and 901 non-recurring cases. The service targets the elderly and people with disabilities, including wheelchair users and bedridden people. It is a free service for citizens and residents of the Emirate of Sharjah, in implementation of the directives of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah.
Director of the Elderly Services Center, Kholoud Al Ali, said that the launch of the private transportation service comes within the framework of the department’s keenness to enhance the quality of life of the elderly and facilitate their access to health facilities, which contributes to reducing health complications resulting from delayed treatment, in addition to supporting their independence in moving around safely and comfortably.
She explained that the service includes the category of bedridden people who cannot sit in a wheelchair due to their health condition, and they are known as “stiff people,” a category that requires special medical methods in the transportation process.
She added that the “sitter” or companion receives specialized training within the “Daama” program provided by the department to qualify bedridden sitters and those accompanying people with disabilities, and it includes training on safe transportation mechanisms from the patient’s bed at home to the medical beds equipped inside transport vehicles.