How we keep you updated during a loved one’s transport
Communication is everything on an international medical transport. Every journey requires hundreds of time-critical messages: talking to foreign doctors, booking tickets, securing a hospital bed, preparing ambulance crews and priming airport authorities, to name just a few.
But good communication isn’t just about the logistics. It’s vital for loved ones too. If you can’t travel with your patient on the medical transport, getting clear and accurate updates about their situation is the difference between peace of mind and hours of needless worry.
That’s something we feel really passionate about here at EMS Air Ambulance & Medical Repatriation. Here’s how we make it work on our repatriation journeys.
When you call us
Contacting your repatriation company should be quick and simple. The call centre experts should be available 24/7, wherever you are in the world. They should also be easy to communicate with. At EMS, we’re happy to chat by phone, text message, email or WhatsApp – whatever works best. Once you start the process, you should also expect speedy replies to your requests and orders. That includes:
- 1) Your price estimate – you can get a guide price in minutes through our free online cost calculator
- 2) Full quotation – we aim to send you a detailed quote within 60 minutes of your request
- 3) Payment receipt – an immediate alert when we’ve received your funds for the transport
- 4) Document confirmations – when we’ve received key documents like your passport scans, travel preferences and patient medical details
- 5) Schedule – confirmation of your patient’s route and a timeline for their journey
Getting this flow of information helps you get a sense of where you are on your patient’s transport timeline, and the progress they’re making in real time.
During the journey
Once the transport has been given the green light to proceed, EMS will tell you as soon as the medical crew has left for your patient’s collection point. We’ll be in touch again when they’ve arrived and completed the Initial Assessment – this is an important, in-situ check to make sure your patient is safe to transport. Next, you’ll get an alert to tell you they’ve left the home or hospital and the transport is underway.
While all this is happening, our logistics team will be working to secure your loved one’s bed arrangements at the receiving facility (unless we’re taking them to a home, of course). Every transport varies in length and transfer times. Some complete in hours while others may take a day or two. Either way, your repatriation company should be sending you regular updates about your patient’s status and journey progress. We’ll let you know that everything is going to schedule, or if we’re anticipating a change to our estimated time of arrival. Have a question or concern? You can call your EMS point of contact any time, day or night, and they’ll be ready to help.
Once you arrive
As the medical crew near their arrival point, they’ll be in touch with the receiving hospital so they can be ready to receive your patient as soon as they arrive. If you can’t be there to meet them personally, we’ll send you an alert so you know we’ve arrived safely at the destination. You’ll also receive a Medical Transport Report, which contains details about your loved one’s vital signs and medical situation during the journey.
Our medical crew won’t leave the hospital or clinic until they’re satisfied that your patient has been properly received by the local doctors and nurses. But that isn’t the end of the process for us either. We’ll be back in touch with you again in a few days’ time to check on your patient and see how everything’s going. If you need anything else from us, we’ll be happy to do whatever we can to help.
Nobody would deny that organising a medical transport can be stressful for families, but good, clear, regular communication makes a huge difference to the process. It’s really the least you should expect from the people who’ve been given the care and protection of your loved one as they travel overseas for treatment.
Contact us
Looking into medical repatriations but confused about what to do next? We can gladly help. Just give EMS a call, or leave us a message, and we’ll be in touch as soon as possible. Our repatriation experts will ask about your situation and explore the potential options with you. Wherever you are, whatever the issue, we’ll do our very best to reassure you about the next steps.