Abu Dhabi.. Rapid response saves a child from a drowning accident that almost claimed her life

SEHA, a subsidiary of PureHealth, praised the rapid response and expertise demonstrated by the emergency and critical care team at Sheikh Khalifa Medical City in Abu Dhabi, following the almost complete drowning of a previously healthy four-year-old girl.

The child was immersed in a swimming pool for an estimated three minutes while in a face-down position.

Emergency Medical Services (EMS) were activated almost immediately after someone rescued her and began performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) at the pelvis site. Although the initial care report did not document a pulse check, the EMS team reported the return of pulses before transporting the patient to Sheikh Khalifa Medical City.

The girl arrived at the hospital 30 minutes after the accident, suffering from shortness of breath.

Initially, her oxygen saturation was normal with a Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) of 15/15, indicating complete consciousness. However, within just 10 minutes, her condition deteriorated rapidly, as her oxygen saturation decreased to 88% with the use of a face mask, and the GCS decreased to 13/15, indicating a tendency to drowsiness and impairment of neurological function.

This case highlights the exceptional preparedness and high alertness of the emergency department team at Sheikh Khalifa Medical City. Their ability to recognize and respond to acute changes in real time was crucial to the child’s care. Point-of-care ultrasonography (POCUS) demonstrated bilateral crackles and pulmonary congestion, consistent with post-immersion injury, directing immediate and direct intervention.

When members of the multidisciplinary emergency team arrived at Sheikh Khalifa Medical City, they began their medical protocol and began stabilizing the patient’s condition. Continued monitoring and clinical re-evaluation allowed her to be transferred to the pediatric intensive care unit to receive further supportive care.

Dr. Fatima Al Jabri, Consultant Physician – Pediatric Emergency Medicine at SEHA Sheikh Khalifa Medical City, stressed the importance of early intervention, saying: “Timely intervention and coordinated response can make a decisive difference in critical incidents such as drowning. Every second counts.”

She added: “The collaborative efforts between emergency medical services and hospital staff embodied best practices in emergency medicine. Stabilization or successful recovery would not have been possible without continuous assessment and adaptation of the patient’s condition.”

This case is a powerful reminder of the importance of raising community awareness about water safety, the life-saving value of bystander CPR, and the effectiveness of integrated emergency response pathways.