Solutions

MedEvac, patient transfer and organ transport

Through our standing operator network we can position a suitably equipped aircraft anywhere in the world within 24 hours of a confirmed instruction.

When a transfer is decided, the decision has usually already taken too long.

What follows has to be fast and it has to be right. The wrong aircraft or the wrong medical configuration costs more time than it saves.

Patient transfer

Aircraft and configuration follow the patient, not the other way round.

Intensive care transportStretcher and a physician led team, in a cabin equipped for continuous care in flight.

Transfer under monitoringFor a patient who is stable but cannot travel unaccompanied or unmonitored.

Seated repatriationWith a medical escort, where the clinical picture allows it.

Commercial stretcherOn a scheduled aircraft, where that is clinically appropriate and genuinely quicker.

Organ transport

An organ transport is not a patient transfer with different cargo. Viability is measured in hours from retrieval, the aircraft has to be available on immediate call rather than on a schedule, and the flight usually runs in two directions: the retrieval team out, the team and the organ back.

We arrange the lift for transplant centres, procurement organisations and the teams working for them. A dedicated aircraft held for the window, crew briefed on the priority of the movement, slots and handling arranged for a departure that cannot wait in a queue, and ground transport connected at both ends so the aircraft is never the part that is waiting.

Bed to bed

What we settle alongside the flight.

01 Acceptance at the destination Clinic acceptance confirmed before the aircraft moves, so the patient is not flown towards a maybe.
02 Ground transport at both ends Ambulance to the aircraft and from the aircraft, timed to the flight rather than ordered after landing.
03 Medical documentation Fitness to fly, handover notes and the paperwork the receiving team needs on arrival.
04 Permits and customs Where they apply to a medical flight, cleared in advance and confirmed rather than assumed.
05 One contact The same person holds the case from instruction to handover and stays reachable through it.

Urgent cases are worked in real time.

Mark an enquiry urgent and a patient transfer or an organ movement goes to the front of the queue, whatever the hour.

Who we work for

Different callers, the same clock.

Insurers and assistance Travel and health insurers, assistance companies, rescue organisations and corporate duty of care programmes.

Clinics and transplant teams Hospitals arranging a transfer, and transplant centres and procurement organisations arranging a retrieval.

Private clients Families arranging a transfer for a relative, with one contact rather than a call centre.

A word on operators We work with a defined set of air ambulance operators we know rather than the open market. The medical crew and the equipment matter more than the tail number, and they are not something to discover on the day.

Configurations

What the clinical picture translates into.

The aircraft named against each configuration is indicative. What is actually offered depends on the range required, the runway at both ends and which medically equipped aircraft is genuinely available in the window.

Configurations

Intensive care Learjet 45, Citation, King Air 350 Stretcher and a physician led team, cabin equipped for continuous care in flight.

Stretcher, monitored Light or mid-size jet Stable, but not fit to sit and not fit to travel unmonitored.

Seated with escort Any cabin class, or a scheduled service Clinically stable, where an escort is enough.

Commercial stretcher Scheduled widebody Where it is clinically appropriate and genuinely quicker than a dedicated flight.

Organ transport Light jet held on immediate call Retrieval team out, team and organ back, with ground transport connected at both ends.

Questions we are asked

At the first call.

How quickly can an aircraft be there?

Through our standing operator network we can position a suitably equipped aircraft anywhere in the world within 24 hours of a confirmed instruction. In Europe it is very often considerably faster.

The limit is rarely the aircraft. It is clinic acceptance at the destination, permits, and crew duty time, which is why we start those in parallel rather than in sequence.

What do you need from us at the first call?

Where the patient is and where they are going, the clinical picture and whether a physician is required, whether the patient can sit or needs a stretcher, and who is authorising the transfer.

If some of that is not yet known, call anyway. We can start on the aircraft while the medical side is still being established.

Can a relative travel with the patient?

Usually yes, subject to the configuration and the medical team on board. Say at the first call that someone wants to travel, because on a small air ambulance the seat has to be planned rather than found.

Who pays, and does insurance cover it?

The commissioning party pays, whether that is an insurer, an assistance company, a clinic or a private client. Many travel and health policies cover medically necessary repatriation, often with a prior approval requirement.

We do not administer your policy, and we will not tell you that you are covered. Check with your insurer, and we will give you the documentation they ask for.

Is organ transport handled differently from a patient transfer?

Yes. The clock starts at retrieval rather than at instruction, the aircraft has to be available on immediate call rather than to a schedule, and the flight normally runs in both directions with the retrieval team.

It is arranged through the same air ambulance operator network, which is why it sits on this page rather than with our courier service.

For anything moving today, say so at the top of your enquiry. These answers are the ones that come up before the case starts.

Tell us the case.

Patient or organ, origin and destination, and the clinical picture. Say at the top of the enquiry if it is moving today.

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