Here at IAS Medical, we provide medical repatriation services for anyone who has had an accident or emergency abroad. While our qualified professionals take care of the physical impacts of an injury, we understand that the after-effects of medical emergencies last long after the injury is healed. To help your recovery, we have put together this guide on caring for your mental health after a medical emergency, to help you through this part of the healing process.

1. Understand your symptoms and why you’re feeling them

One of the simplest ways to take control over your mental health after an accident or medical emergency is to know what you should expect to be feeling, and how your accident has caused it.

Your emotions could range from fear and helplessness, to being worried that the accident may occur again, to feeling relieved that the outcome wasn’t worse and being hopeful for a new start. Other emotions you may not expect could include anger, as well as guilt if someone else was affected by the accident. You may also feel embarrassed that you’re feeling this way.

Usually these feelings will present themselves straight after the accident, but sometimes they can be delayed. The important thing to remember is that what you’re feeling is completely normal, and is a direct result of what you experienced, and that it will pass.

2. What to do to take care of your mental health

There are a number of things you can do to look after your mental wellbeing after your accident. We suggest trying the following:

• Get talking – You may not always feel like it, but it can be very therapeutic to talk through how you’re feeling with friends, family or someone more detached like a councillor.
• Take time – Time is the greatest healer, so don’t expect too much of yourself too soon. Note down any small improvements to your mood, so you feel like you are making progress.
• Gentle exercise – Light exercise like going on an evening walk has been proven to help sufferers of stress and anxiety, by promoting the release of endorphins.
• Get back into your routine – Getting back into your routine after an accident helps you to establish a level of normality and structure.

3. Seek professional help

If you are struggling to cope with the impact the medical emergency has had on your mental health, you may need to seek further help from a medical professional.

There are a number of indicators that could suggest you need to seek additional help. For example:

• Feeling like your day-to-day life is being heavily impacted by your trauma
• Struggling to carry out your work or take care of yourself
• Becoming more dependent on alcohol or medication
• Feeling depressed or anxious

If you are unsure whether you should speak to a medical professional or not, paying a visit to your GP is your best course of action, as they will be able to advise on the best steps to take.

There are also a number of mental health helplines that offer support and advice to people who have suffered an accident or physical trauma. These include:

• Mind: 0300 123 3393, mind.org.uk
• Assist Trauma Care: 01788 560800, www.org.uk
• Combat Stress: 0800 138 1619, combatstress.org.uk

If you have had an accident abroad, and are in need of medical transportation home, contact the IAS Medical team today. Our team is experienced with dealing with all types of medical emergency and will be able to advise you on what to do next.

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‘Medevac’ is a term which is often used when evacuating injured parties from large-scale incidents involving high numbers of people. For instance, it may refer to evacuations of service people from areas of conflict, or rescues following a natural disaster. ‘Medevac’ can also be used to describe smaller-scale incidents, for instance when individuals who have been injured abroad need to be transported to a hospital in their home country for treatment.

Here at IAS Medical, we provide comprehensive, high quality medevac services for anyone who needs them. This includes services for the Ministry of Defence, the NHS and insurance companies, as well as individual families. Our highly experienced medical teams can provide expert medical care in any situation involving multiple casualty repatriation, bringing reassurance at the time when you need it most.

Our air ambulances are available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, so we’re always ready to provide safe and effective medical evacuation whenever you need us.

What do medevac services involve?

When you book medevac services with IAS Medical, you can expect a comprehensive bed-to-bed service. Our team will take care of everything to get the patient from their current location to a hospital in a place of safety. This includes:

• Collecting the patient(s) from their current location and transferring them by ground ambulance to our specialist aircraft
• Collecting medical notes if possible, and translating them if necessary
• Transporting the patient(s) in an air ambulance which is fully equipped for their needs
• Transporting additional passengers alongside the patient(s) if possible
• Providing specialist medical personnel to care for the patient(s) along every step of their journey
• Arranging hospital admission at the destination prior to arrival
• Transporting the patient(s) from the destination airport to hospital

At IAS Medical, our services are fully bespoke, depending on the situation at hand. If you need to organise medevac flights, please get in touch with our team to find out how we can tailor our services to support you.

Medevac cost

The cost of medical evacuation varies significantly, depending on factors such as:

• The number of patients, and whether anyone is accompanying them
• The location of the patient(s) and their destination
• The type of aircraft required for the needs of the patient(s)
• The number of medical staff required
• The airport landing fees
• The distance which needs to be travelled by ground ambulance

To get an idea of how an air ambulance might cost for one patient, take a look at our guide to air ambulance costs. This guide will give you a rough idea of starting prices for different locations around the world. To get an exact price for your unique needs, get in touch with our friendly team, and we’ll talk you through the options available.

Find out more

To get expert advice on arranging medical repatriation, and a personalised quote for your needs, please don’t hesitate to contact a member of the IAS medical team. Call us today on 0800 7999 900 and our friendly experts will talk you through everything you need to know.

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International air ambulances have to be in the air for many hours at a time, flying often critically ill patients from the Middle East, USA, South America, Africa, Asia and other international destinations. At IAS Medical, our fleet of air ambulances includes Chieftain, Cheyenne, King Air 200 and Lear Jet 35 and 55 aircraft – the latter being intensive-care vessels used for worldwide flights. From the outside they resemble executive jets, but inside they become flying hospital units, fitted with the latest state-of-the-art monitoring and intensive care equipment. With a crew of two pilots, plus qualified, aero-medically trained doctors and nurses or paramedics, our jets are configured to address all patient needs, including high dependency, paediatric and neonatal patients. All ambulances in the fleet comply with the guidelines for the transfer of critically ill patients, as set by the ICS (Intensive Care Society.)

An international air ambulance can carry a lot of supplies, which must be replenished immediately after every intensive care flight. As with rapid response vehicles on the ground, the crew must always be ready for the next emergency. Equally important is the transfer between hospital and aircraft, and between the aircraft and the admission hospital. We at IAS Medical offer a full bed-to-bed service, inclusive of pre-flight clearance, ground ambulance transfers and hospital admission – all of which is arranged by a medical co-ordinator before departure.

Another important element is the retrieval of patient medical documents. An international air ambulance can often have to transfer patients from non-English speaking areas such as the UAE, where medical notes may be written in Arabic. Here at IAS Medical we have a duty of care to our patients which extends to translation of medical notes. This is one of the most challenging aspects of medical repatriation – but one of the most essential.

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UK citizens who travel abroad – either for business or pleasure – need to be sure they’re covered for illness and injury. But what if the condition is so severe they need to get back to Britain for treatment? Then, they or their insurance company can arrange repatriation to the UK through an air ambulance company like us at IAS Medical.

We are the leading air ambulance company in Europe, providing a fully approved, professional service to all UK citizens needing to be repatriated from abroad. We work closely with insurance companies and private individuals – including those with no travel insurance – to ensure the patient’s medical needs are covered every step of the way. We also offer our services to the NHS, private hospitals, the MOD, the British government and foreign embassies.

Travellers are reminded to check their travel insurance covers them for all emergencies, including medical repatriation. However in the event that you are not, you’ll be surprised to discover private air ambulances are more affordable than you think. Staffed by experienced, aero qualified doctors and nurses and equipped with a full range of cutting-edge medical equipment, they are the most appropriate solution for critically ill patients in need of urgent medical care.

However, for patients with less serious medical concerns we at IAS Medical do offer other alternatives, such as commercial airliner stretcher repatriation to UK airports. Patients get airport-to-hospital ambulance service at both airports, plus extras like ticketing; visa application and pre-flight medical clearance. Medical escorts can also accompany patients with very minor conditions on normal scheduled flights. This is the cheapest and most basic form of repatriation to the UK, but includes basic medical checks and that all-important element: patient support.

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In addition to our usual health and safety measures, we have put additional precautions in place to safeguard our patients, crew and staff members during this unprecedented outbreak. You can find more details about these measures below.

Measures for our flight crews and medical teams
To protect the health and safety of our flight crews and medical teams, and therefore our patients to, we have put the following measures in place:

• Temperature screening
• Health questionnaires
• COVID-19 PCR testing, carried out sometimes on more than one occasion in a 24-hour period, at points of origin and destination, and tech stops in between.
• Hotel quarantine during overnight stops
• Restricted access to food, rest and recreation

We are incredibly proud of our team members for the professionalism, dedication and loyalty they continue to show. Through their co-operation, we are continuing to keep our patients safe.

Essential COVID-19 PCR Testing For Patients
A COVID-19 PCR test result is mandatory to accept any person onto an IAS MEDICAL air ambulance flight. This helps to keep both you safe, and our teams.

It’s essential that we receive these test results prior to your flight, as the PCR test results are added to the official documents which IAS MEDICAL uses to obtain overflight and landing clearances. They must be produced to port health authorities and hospital facilities in any jurisdiction.

In instances where the test is positive, we are obligated to use a Portable Isolation Unit/EpiShuttle to transport the patient.

We appreciate that obtaining these tests can be difficult due to limitations in public health screening policy, but we ask that all of our clients make extra efforts to push for these tests.

Where all measures have been actively applied at local level, and no COVID-19 PCR test result can be obtained, we may conditionally accept a Hospital Certificate stating that “the patient does not have COVID-19 Infection”. Only official documentation will be accepted.

If no COVID-19 PCR test result or Hospital Certificate can be presented, we are still able to transport a patient via an Epi-Shuttle PMIU on a CL604 aircraft. This is still a workable solution, albeit at higher cost.

Our policy for companions travelling on IAS Medical air ambulance aircraft
We understand that many patients may wish to have a companion with them on their flight. We will be reviewing each flight on a case-by-case basis to determine whether we’re able to accept a companion for that particular flight, which we believe is the safest and fairest approach.

The following requirements for companions will be implemented based on the circumstances of each case:

• COVID-19 PCR test results for companions
• Where test results are unavailable, COVID-19 Hospital Certificates for companions will be considered case by case
• Companions may be asked to wear face masks for the duration of the flight
• Pre-boarding health screening including temperature screenings

Ensuring the safety of our aircraft
Alongside our usual safety policies, we have invested in a specialist decontamination kit to ensure our aircraft are thoroughly disinfected after every flight to minimise the spread of infection.

For more information on the availability of our air ambulance flights or for any additional details around the policies we have in place to protect you and our flight teams, contact us on +44 800 7 999 900.

The post Keeping You Safe: New COVID-19 Air Ambulance Safety Measures appeared first on IAS Medical.

Medical repatriation takes several forms, depending on the severity of the condition and your budget. Even if you’re in good health, it’s best to plan for the worst case scenario, and ensure any travel insurance you have covers the cost of repatriation from Spain in a fully equipped air ambulance with experienced, qualified doctors and nurses on board. However, air ambulances can also be booked privately, for those without insurance.

We at IAS Medical offer a dedicated air ambulance service providing repatriation from Spain to all areas of the UK. Our fleet of Cheyenne, King Air and Lear Jet air ambulances are fully equipped with state-of-the-art medical equipment, and staffed by experienced, aero-medically qualified doctors and nurses. Jets are strategically placed for repatriation from all major Spanish airports, including Malaga; Alicante; Barcelona; Madrid; Valencia; Murcia; Seville; Granada; Bilbao and Santander. Depending on the severity of the condition, repatriation from Spain can also be arranged on a commercial airliner. In both cases, you get round-the-clock care, with a full bed-to-bed service which includes ground ambulance transfers at both airports; medical note retrieval (including translation if needed), and hospital admission to both NHS and private establishments.

Due to the high demand for medical repatriation from Spain’s more popular areas, such as Malaga and Alicante, weekly European Shuttle Services are also available, allowing multiple numbers of less serious patients to be transported at substantially lower cost. We at IAS Medical offer this and many other solutions to insurance companies, British embassies, hospitals and private uninsured individuals – 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

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