Intensive care crew and ICU ambulance: transferring a critically ill patient to a clinic or an aircraft
The most dangerous leg of a transfer is often the shortest: from the intensive care unit door to the vehicle, from a regional hospital to Tbilisi, from the airport gate to the aircraft steps. On this leg the patient needs the same as they had on the ward: a ventilator, a monitor, pumps and a doctor to manage them. The service on this page is organising exactly that leg, with a licensed operator's ICU ambulance and an intensive care physician's crew, with a handover record at the starting point and at the destination.
-
Type C ICU ambulanceVentilator, defibrillator-monitor, syringe pumps, oxygen for hours
-
Intensive care physician en routeA crew that can continue treatment, not just transport the patient
-
Handover record at both endsWho received and handed over the patient, when and in what condition
The four routes we arrange most often
Each has its own pitfall: on one it is the permit, on another the distance, on a third the border. Below is what we have to take into account on each.
-
Clinic to clinic within the city
The shortest leg, but the one most often underestimated: a lift the stretcher does not fit into, the sending clinic's sign-off on discharge and the receiving clinic being ready at exactly that hour. We coordinate the intensive care physicians on both sides so that the bed does not sit empty waiting and the patient is not left in a corridor.
-
From the regions to Tbilisi and the other way
3-6 hours on the road means an oxygen supply for 8 hours, a double supply of medicines and stopping points along the route where the nearest intensive care unit is. Before setting off, the crew's doctor examines the patient personally and decides whether they can withstand the journey.
-
Clinic to the airport apron
The leg where two crews and airport security have to meet at a single point. The apron access permit, the exact time of the flight, the crew lists and the patient's passport are sent in advance; handover to the flight doctor takes place right at the aircraft.
-
Overland to a neighbouring country
From Sarpi, Bagratashen and the Red Bridge it is a few hours to clinics in Trabzon, Yerevan and Ganja. The rules for taking an ambulance across the border and the crew's documents are checked afresh every time; sometimes the patient is handed over at the border to an ICU ambulance from the other country.
What is in the vehicle and who is in the vehicle
The crew composition and equipment are determined by the patient's condition, so the quote lists them separately.
| Patient's condition | Crew | Equipment in the vehicle | What we ask of the sending clinic |
|---|---|---|---|
| On a ventilator, unstable | Intensive care physician and an anaesthetic nurse | Transport ventilator, defibrillator-monitor, 3-4 syringe pumps, oxygen, suction unit, vacuum mattress | Ventilator settings, current infusions with doses, readings for the last 6 hours |
| In intensive care, stable | Doctor and a nurse or paramedic | Monitor, pumps, oxygen, full medicines bag | Discharge summary, current prescriptions, consent to discharge |
| Bedbound, breathing unaided | Nurse or paramedic, a doctor if needed | Monitor, oxygen, stretcher with restraints | Discharge summary and prescriptions for the journey |
| To the airport apron | As above according to condition, plus a handover record for the flight doctor | As above, plus a stretcher compatible with the aircraft | Passports, crew list for the airport, the aircraft's flight details |
The price is calculated from the route distance, the crew composition and waiting hours, and the operator fixes it in writing before departure. Waiting time if the clinic is delayed is a separate rate, which we ask to have stated in the quote in advance.
Frequently asked questions about ICU ambulances and ground transfers
How does an ICU ambulance differ from an ordinary ambulance?
In three ways: equipment, crew and purpose. An ICU ambulance (a Type C ambulance under the European classification) carries intensive care unit equipment: a transport ventilator, a defibrillator-monitor, several syringe pumps, a vacuum mattress, oxygen for several hours and an independent power supply. The crew includes an intensive care physician and a nurse or paramedic, not just a feldsher. And its purpose is not to respond at the scene and take the patient to the nearest hospital, but the planned transfer of an already stabilised yet seriously ill patient to a specific bed, with treatment continuing on the way. That is why an ICU ambulance is no substitute for 112, but after 112 it is often the only way.
How is the patient handed over to the medical aircraft at the airport?
Patients are not taken to a medical aircraft through the terminal. With permission agreed in advance with the airport services, the ICU ambulance drives onto the apron right up to the aircraft, the crews hand over to each other with a written record covering the patient, the latest monitor readings, the medicines given on the way and the documents, and the patient is moved from the ambulance stretcher to the aircraft stretcher in a single transfer. To issue the permission, the airport needs the lists of both crews, the vehicle registration number and the aircraft's flight details several hours in advance, so we start on this as soon as the aircraft is confirmed. Passport control for the patient and the companion often takes place on the apron itself or in the medical terminal.
Is a ground transfer to Turkey, Armenia or Azerbaijan possible?
It is possible, and often even faster than flying when the destination is a few hours from Sarpi, Bagratashen or the Red Bridge, for example Trabzon, Yerevan or Ganja. Two things have to be settled in advance: the rules for taking an ambulance across the border (in some cases the patient is handed over at the border to an ICU ambulance from the other country waiting there) and the crew's passports and entry requirements. Here, instead of a flight doctor, the crew's doctor is responsible for the route and assesses the journey time, the oxygen supply and the patient's tolerance before setting off. Overland to Istanbul, or from Tbilisi to Baku, already means 8-15 hours, and for a seriously ill patient flying is, as a rule, safer.
Who is responsible for the patient's condition on the way?
The crew's doctor and the licensed operator, whose name we tell you before you order. The handover record documents exactly this: the condition in which the patient was handed over by the departure clinic to the crew, and the condition in which the crew handed the patient over to the receiving doctor. The family also receives the record. Our responsibility is organisational: choosing the right operator, the right crew and the right route, the documents, permits, the receiving bed and communication with the family. If the patient's condition worsens on the way, the crew's doctor decides whether to continue or stop at the nearest clinic, and we inform the family immediately.
What continues the ground leg
- Medical charter flight The aircraft the ICU ambulance meets on the apron: formats, price and documents.
- Medical equipment hire An oxygen concentrator and a hospital bed for when the patient is being moved home from the clinic.
- Discharge summary translation A receiving clinic in a neighbouring country needs the discharge summary and the handover record in its own language before the border.
Crew, vehicle and receiving bed in a single arrangement
Send us the route and the patient's condition. Within the hour you will know when a crew is free, what it will cost and what the sending clinic needs so that discharge is not delayed.