Medical repatriation is the process of getting someone who is injured or unwell back home, whether that be interstate or abroad.  The benefit of this is that they can recover surrounded by their family and friends, in a health system that they understand and are familiar with.

Throughout our time in the industry, most often we are helping people who have become unwell or injured unexpectedly away from home, and are either uninsured or their travel insurance doesn’t cover a pre-existing condition so their medical costs aren’t covered.  Our aim to stop this from becoming a financial disaster, and reach out to our network of over 100 trusted providers to arrange the best transport home for you or your loved one.

“We have found that when people think of medical repatriation, they quite often think of air ambulance, and the exorbitant costs that would be associated with that.  But we are able to arrange lots of other options as well.” Says Steve Mclaren, Founder and Director of Operations.

There are a range of options available to people who require medical repatriation, depending on their condition.

Dedicated air ambulance: this is a private jet, staffed by medical professionals, and its sole purpose is to transport that patient home. This option tends to be used when the patient is critically ill or urgently needs to get home.

Fixed stretcher on a commercial flight with a medical escort: this involves removing several rows of seats from a commercial flight, to fit a stretcher so that the patient can lie down.  This takes several days to organise because the airline needs to find enough spare seats, as well as get an engineer in to fit the stretcher.  This option is for someone who has very limited mobility, and the patient will be accompanied by one, or multiple medical professionals.  Only some airlines offer this service and it is not available at all airports.

Medical escort on a commercial flight: predominantly done in business class, patients needs to be well enough to be able to sit up for take-off and landing.  For the most part that will require one person with them, usually a flight nurse or paramedic. 

We are also able to find great cost savings through our partners in the case of an example of this is utilising what is known as an empty leg.  “Through our partnerships with multiple, trusted providers globally we can utilise empty legs where air ambulances are returning from an already completed patient transfer,” explains Erin Lord, Founder Director of Business Development, “we can  make the most of empty stretchers on flights that are flying a similar route. Through this, we are able to get significant savings for our clients”.

We have over 12 years of industry experience and understand how stressful and emotional this process can be, our aim to ensure that the highest level of care is given at the most competitive cost.  “Being able to help people in these moments is a privilege, our patient and their family always come first and we want to eliminate as much stress as we can from the situation.” Says Steve.

Want to know more? Click here to check out the Aeromedical Solutions website, give them a call on 0457 121 275.  You can follow the company and like them on Facebook or follow them on Linkedin