6 ways to speed up a medical repatriation
If you are trying to get a sick relative home from another country for treatment, you want to get them home as quickly as possible. Acting quickly is a requirement for any medical transport. How we do that at EMS? Find out in this blog.
1. An immediate response when you need medical repatriation to the US
For all enquiries EMS has a 24/7 global contact line for all enquiries. We want people to know they’ll get an immediate response – from an expert – as soon as they pick up the phone. To help with that, we have teams stationed in four different time zones around the world, from London (our international HQ) to the US and the Middle East. You can also talk to us by email, WhatsApp and iMessage – or even book a video call.
Read on: Repatriating a relative? Why communication is everything
2. A quick cost estimate for the repatriation
If you’re trying to repatriate someone in an emergency, the last thing you need is a long wait to find out how much your transport will cost. We’ve created an online form that makes the process much quicker. You simply enter your name, your patient’s details and the start / end points. It takes 1min to complete and we aim to return your estimate within 30mins. That way, you can make an informed decision and plan your next steps.
Read on: How do I book a medical repatriation?
3. Mobilizing teams
In medical repatriations, a full or part-payment of the transport fee usually acts as the green light for starting the journey. But your repatriation company should be mobilizing its transport and medical teams before that even happens. Here at EMS, that means the ground transport teams will be preparing the ambulances for departure. The doctors will be in touch with the local hospital medics to get the latest info on your patient’s condition so we have exactly what we need for their journey. Our operations specialists will be staying in touch with you to provide updates and reassurance for your medical repatriation to the US
4. Calculate the optimum route for repatriation
How your patient gets from A to B is one of the key questions at the start of the process. Much depends on their medical condition: are they conscious or unconscious? In need of supervision or intensive care inflight? Then it’s about choosing the optimum mode of transport for the repatriation to the UK. That could be a Private Jet from our network of Air Ambulances, or the next available flight on a commercial airline (with a Medical Escort). But not necessarily – a land journey by long-distance Road Ambulance avoids the need for airport transfers, check-ins and waiting times. We also use an advanced GPS system to pre-plan the vehicles’ optimum route.
Read on: EMS tech: a "flight radar system" for our road ambulances
5. “Go tarmac” at the airport
But if you are taking a flight, it’s important to remove as many obstacles from the transfer process as possible. On a basic level, we do that by handling everything for you: booking tickets, informing the airport authorities of your situation, handling luggage check-ins and taking your patient to the aircraft (by stretcher or wheelchair, if necessary). But we often speed things up even further by “going tarmac” – this means getting clearance to drive right up to the steps of the aircraft itself. It’s far more direct.
Read on: Getting you home: how do airport transfers work?
6. Secure a hospital bed in advance for your repatriation to the US
If you’re taking your patient to a hospital or clinic, their journey doesn’t stop at the doors of the A&E department. You need to know the local doctors are ready and that a bed is waiting for them on arrival. EMS is a proudly “bed-to-bed” repatriation company, which means we secure your patient’s hospital bed as part of the transport. Once it’s secured, we’ll stay in touch with the hospital to update them on our progress and ETA. If for any reason the bed isn’t there as expected, our team won’t leave until they’re satisfied that one is being prepared for your patient.
Read on: Can you secure a hospital bed for us?
What customers say about EMS’s speed of service
We can mobilise our teams within minutes and get them to your patient within hours. Also for your repatriation the US. But don’t just take our word for it!
“Having changed the plan late on the Saturday evening, EMS managed to arrange the air ambulance super-fast, so that they collected my father by 12 noon on Sunday, by 2.30pm he was on the plane, and he was safely in a London hospital, close to home and his family, later that same afternoon. I can't thank EMS enough for the incredible service they provided.”
Dominic
“Despite many problems that occurred in the airport (the airline didn’t inform the airport about the injured passenger), the ambulance crew members were fast to react and ensured that the patient got to her flight in time. If it wasn’t for their support and extreme professionalism my friend wouldn’t get to her home country safely.”
Maia
“The communication was clear, fast, very friendly and just exactly what you need in difficult times. My mother and father were transported home within three days and they were so happy.”
Guy
“Super-fast response and response time.”
Sakine
