Can you secure a hospital bed for us?
If you’re new to EMS Air Ambulance & Medical Repatriation, you may not know we are a “bed-to-bed” repatriation company.
This is something we’re passionate about, so you’ll see it frequently in our literature and quality guarantees.
“Bed-to-bed” really means just that. We’ll take care of your patient from the moment we reach their bedside – wherever they are in the world right now – to the bed at their final destination (or the “receiving facility”, to use the official language).
Depending on your patient’s medical situation, that destination bed could be in their own home, or in the house of a relative or friend. Or – as is often the case – it will be in a private room or ward in a hospital, care home, or other medical facility.
Whatever the location, it’s important to make sure that bed is ready and waiting for your patient by the time they arrive. Customers often ask us who arranges this and how. Here’s how it works.
Contacting your doctors
When you contact EMS, the first person you’ll speak to is a member of our Operations Team. They’ll collect your patient’s key details and explore the potential transport options with you. Once you’ve given us the go-ahead for the transport, we then contact both sets of medical teams:
- Your current doctors – to request your patient’s most up-to-date details, treatment programme, and their Medical Report, and to make sure the medics know when to expect our transport team
- Destination doctors – to tell them we’re bringing your patient to their hospital or clinic so they can start to make all the necessary preparations for their arrival
Contacting your destination doctors means we get in touch with the department that’s most relevant to their medical situation. If they’ve had a stroke, for example, we may speak to consultants in Cardiology and / or Neurology. We’ll explain your patient’s current situation and medical history, and send them the Medical Report so they have the latest details.
As a rule, we prefer to take patients to a hospital or clinic in the first instance – even if they’re ultimately heading somewhere else, such as a care home or a rehab centre. Doing this means they’ll have a full medical check-up in the destination country, and be registered with the relevant medical systems if necessary.
Keeping everyone updated
While the other parts of the transport are in motion – preparing the ambulance and equipment, arranging airport or ferry connections, heading to your collection point – we will also be working to confirm the bed arrangements at your patient’s hospital. We email the facility to register our transport and likely arrival times. And as soon as we’ve had their confirmation, we’ll send you an email to let you know the bed is being prepared for them.
Sending regular updates is an important part of the EMS service – it keeps you in touch with where your patient is during the journey, keeps you in the picture if there are any schedule changes, and gives you peace of mind as they head to their home hospital for onward care. You can of course contact us at any time during the transport if you need to as well.
Securing a safe handover
As the ambulance or taxi completes the final leg of the journey, you’ll normally know they are nearing the destination hospital already. If you can’t be there to meet your patient personally, we’ll send you an alert to say they have arrived safely. You will also receive a copy of the Medical Transport Report, with details about your loved one’s vital signs and medical situation during the journey.
At the hospital, our crew will make contact with the receiving doctors. It’s worth noting that most patients go straight to A&E before heading to their destination department or ward, even in non-urgent situations: this is a standard part of the admission process in many hospitals. Repatriation companies have a detailed process of checks and verifications for transferring patients safely to the destination medical teams. Our crew won’t leave the facility until they’re satisfied your patient has been properly received by the relevant medics.
While the transport officially ends at the final “bedside”, we like to keep in touch with you afterwards. One of our specialists will contact you a day or two later to see how your patient is getting on, and if there’s anything else you need from our side.
Interested in reading more on this topic? You might find these articles helpful…
Contact us
Are you looking into repatriation options for a friend or relative? If so, we’re here to talk and we can advise you on the potential options. You can call us any time on our 24/7 numbers – see our Contact page for all the details – or get a quick, no-obligation estimate for the cost of the journey at our online pricing calculator.