What To Do When A Medical Evacuation Is Necessary

When a person is having a life threatening emergency, medical evacuation is often needed. Many times we witness the air ambulances landing at serious car accidents and other traumatic instances. If you ever encounter the need for one of these emergency services, there are some things you need to know.

As you are getting ready for flight, you may want someone to be along with you. Depending on the level of your medical condition up to two individuals can be flown with you. You need to remain calm and understanding if the medical personnel determine it isn’t safe for you.

Determining the type of medical situation for the air ambulance company is essential as well. There are three basic conditions that may warrant the use of medical evacuation.

Basic Life Support: With this, the patient will normally only have a minor medical emergency, but they will likely need oxygen and IV access. Usually they remain stable, but that could change quickly thus warranting the need for an air ambulance.

Advanced Life Support: While still in a stable condition there is a higher requirement for IV support as well as the need for infusions. Because of the extra attention required and need to get to a facility quicker, the patient would require an air ambulance.

Critical Care: This patient is in dire need of care. They are likely unstable and need constant work done on them, IV’s are constantly being handled and there may be a need for serious ventilation. There may even be a need for some invasive procedures.

In all three scenarios the air ambulance company will help to determine if you need to be airlifted. In some occurrences, a standard ambulance would be called in place of this evacuation tool. If you are a healthcare provider, they will also be able to help you with determining if the patient does need to be airlifted.

This brings up another important point – when you decide to airlift a patient never use a broker. Instead, by going directly through the company you save money for the responsible party for the trip. It might be the hospital, insurance company or the patient. When you deal with a broker, their bottom line is important and what they charge normally only covers the basic needs of the patient.

Keep in mind that the entire set of personnel on the flight is dedicated to helping you. Never attack or get angry when they are trying to help you. Instead, remain calm. They understand the pain you might be in and are dedicated to providing you with excellent care.

There is nothing to worry about when flying in the air ambulance either. The pilots are required to receive additional training in medical terminology, how to provide the patient care at the highest level, and flight physiology as well. This allows communication to remain intact while performing the basics you might need and with twenty thousand hours of flight time under their belt before they become certified, you never have to worry about a novice pilot.

During the flight you will be asked to remain as still as possible. This helps to prevent any turbulence that might be caused by unnecessary movement, and can prove to be critical. Be sure to follow the directions of the flight personnel exactly as you are asked to.

Keep in mind that an air ambulance is a serious form of medical transportation and not every situation you encounter will demand the use of it. Take time to review the information provided, and contact a company you can trust to make sure that your specific situation should be handled by an air ambulance for medical evacuation.