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Blog

29 November 2021

What do I do after an accident abroad?

If you or someone you care about has experienced an accident abroad, it can be a stressful and confusing time. At IAS Medical, we’re here to support you along every step of the way, and we’ve put together some guidance to help you through this difficult time.

After an accident, we advise taking the following steps:

1. Seek medical attention

In the event of a serious injury, you will of course need to seek help from the medical services available locally. If you are a European citizen with a valid European Health Insurance Card, you will be able to use this to access state-provided healthcare if you’re travelling within Europe.

2. Report the accident

Any serious accident should be reported to all relevant parties. This includes the hotel or accommodation provider. Failing this, a report should be made as soon as the patient returns to the UK.

The accident should be recorded in any available accident book, and it’s advised that copies of the entries are requested.

3. Look into insurance arrangements

In the event of an accident, one of the first things you will need to look into is whether the patient is covered by an insurance policy. Whether insurance is in place or not, if you think you will need help getting home, we recommend getting in touch with us as soon as possible. That way, you can ensure that you’ve got a plan of action if insurers are unable to help.

Insurance companies tend to choose the most cost-effective option, which often isn’t the best course of action for the patient. This could mean waiting to see if the patient will recover enough to fly back on a commercial airline, which could delay repatriation by weeks or even months. In some cases, you could find that the insurance company doesn’t pay up at all, if they judge that they aren’t financially responsible for your specific circumstances.

To avoid the stress of being left with no way to get home, we would recommend that you contact us from the beginning, as well as getting in touch with the insurance company. That way, we will be ready to help right away if you need us.

4. Medical repatriation

If a patient is badly injured and cannot return home through the usual transport methods, you will need to look into organising specialist medical transport. IAS Medical are experts in medical repatriation, and can assist with any kind of medical emergency abroad.

We provide a comprehensive service which takes care of everything, making the whole process of repatriation much less stressful. Here’s what you can expect:

  • Once you’ve got in touch with us to book an air ambulance, we will fly a highly trained medical team out and transport them by ground ambulance to the patient’s hospital.
  • At the hospital, our team will meet with the patient and their family, as well as doing a full medical assessment and handover with the hospital staff.
  • The team will then transport the patient by ground ambulance, and transfer them to our fully-equipped air ambulance.
  • The aircraft will then depart for the patient’s destination. During the flight, the patient will receive the highest level of care from our medical team.
  • On arrival at the destination airport, a pre-arranged private ground ambulance will transfer the patient to the hospital. We will arrange a bed at the hospital on your behalf, making the transfer as smooth and stress-free as possible.
  • At the hospital, our medical team will complete a full handover with the hospital staff, to ensure that all information and medical notes are handed over. This provides outstanding continuity of care, to help the patient’s recovery to run as smoothly as possible.

Call us for a quote

At IAS Medical, we understand how stressful it can be when someone in your family is injured abroad. We are available 24 hours a day to answer your questions and set your mind at ease.

Call us on 0800 7999 900 to talk things through with our experts, and we will provide a quote which is tailored to your needs.

How is this calculated?

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Overview

If you need to arrange medical transport, the last thing you should be worrying about is money, so here at IAS Medical we offer all-inclusive prices to help you understand exactly what to expect. The cost of an air ambulance will depend on your individual circumstances, with prices depending on the following factors:

  • The patient’s location and the distance they need to travel
  • The type of aircraft needed
  • The number of medical staff required
  • The airport landing fees
  • The journey required by ground ambulance

The cost of medical crew

The overall cost of booking an air ambulance depends on various factors, including the number of medical staff required and the expertise needed to support the patient’s medical needs.

As an indication of how this affects the overall cost of an air ambulance, the cost of recruiting medical experts is as follows:

  • Flight Surgeons: £700 per day
  • Doctors: £700 per day
  • Nurses: £350 per day
  • Paramedics: £350 per day

The cost of our aircraft

Prices will depend on the type of aircraft you need to book, according to the clinical needs of the patient, the size of aircraft required and the equipment needed on board. Prices will also vary depending on how many people would like to accompany the patient on their journey, although this may not be possible depending on the patient’s medical condition.

For non-serious cases, there is often a choice of aircraft, in which case we will use the most cost-effective aircraft available.

The cost of airport landing fees

All airports charge landing and aircraft handling fees, which will impact on the overall cost of your medical transport. There may also be extension fees to keep the airport open, as well as aircraft de-icing fees.

We provide air ambulances from major airports right across the world, so we can get as close as possible to the patient’s hospital ward. We then use an RAF airport for flights into London, which helps to keep air ambulance costs as manageable as possible.

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