I’m about to contact you: what details will EMS need from me?
Organising a repatriation can be a confusing experience. Most people – let’s face it – have never tried to get a friend or loved one home after they fall ill abroad. Every part of the process feels new, strange and slightly bewildering. So what happens when you pick up the phone and call EMS for help? What information are we going to ask you for? Here’s a quick guide.
When you first call us
When you first make contact with us, the main thing we need to do is establish the key facts as quickly as possible. Once you dial our main contact number +44 20 4586 1000 you’ll come straight through to our experienced liaison team. They’ll steer you swiftly through some simple questions.
The essentials – who is your patient; what’s their name / age? Whereabouts in the world are they?
The issue – what happened and when: are they in an emergency situation right now, or are you looking to take them to another country for specialist / long-term treatment (or even “Medical Tourism”)?
Their condition – how is your patient at the moment? Are they in critical care, conscious or unconscious, stable or awaiting emergency surgery? Will they need any specialist medicines, equipment or intensive care (ICU) when we transfer them to the flight or ambulance?
The location – where are they: which address, clinic or hospital? And where are you?
The destination – where do you want to get them to? Will you or anyone else be travelling with them?
We’ll also discuss the best mode of transport for the repatriation. There are three options: a commercial flight with a medical escort, a private road ambulance for land-based travel, or a private air ambulance. Armed with all this information, we’ll work out the best package and calculate the cost. We can usually come back to you within 60 minutes.
When you’re ready to book
If you’re ready to go ahead and book the repatriation, we’ll get started straight away. We pride ourselves on taking care of absolutely everything you need for the journey: paperwork, logistics, transport connections, medical support. But in order to go ahead, we’ll need some other details from you. Here are the next steps:
Acceptance – if you’re happy with the quote, just let us know by email or sign the quotation online.
Payment – we’ll send you an invoice with our details so you can make your payment. Then simply send us a receipt of payment (a forwarded email, or even a screenshot of the completed transaction). This acts as our green light for organising the transport.
Travel documents – now you can send us a copy of your patient’s passport or resident permit, and a visa if it’s necessary. (Don’t have a visa? Don’t worry; we can also arrange a Visa-on-Arrival (VOA) when you’re booked into our service.)
Hospital contacts – if your patient is in hospital, send us the contact details so we can liaise with their medical team and prepare for the handover and onward travel. In some cases, we may also ask you to send your patient’s medical report too. (Don’t speak the language? No problem. We can always arrange translators at any stage of the journey.)
Your key contact number – unless you’re travelling with the patient yourself, we’ll stay in touch with you by telephone throughout their journey so we can update you on how things are going. The team will also be in touch as we near the destination home or hospital, so you can be ready to welcome them when they arrive.
Contact us
Do you need to get someone abroad for medical treatment right now? Please get in touch with our team. They’ll be very happy to talk through the options and explain how everything works.