Travelling by stretcher or with a medical escort
For patients who cannot travel seated: airline approval, medical clearance and an escort — and at least two weeks of notice.
Some patients cannot sit for a flight. That does not rule out treatment abroad, but it changes the timetable of the arrangements considerably.
What stretcher travel involves
Stretcher transport on a commercial flight requires airline approval, medical clearance and usually a nurse or physician escort. Several seats are removed to install the stretcher, which is why it must be arranged well ahead and cannot be added to an existing booking.
The documentation and the ground ambulances at both ends have to be coordinated, and this needs at least two weeks’ notice; less than that and the airline approval alone will not be in place.
When an escort is needed
An escort is usually required where the patient needs oxygen, suctioning, continuous monitoring or medication during the flight, and where a medical decision might have to be made in the air.
It is a clinical judgement rather than a preference, and airlines apply their own rules on top. The assessment is made from the records before anything is booked.
What has to be arranged in advance
Medical clearance forms completed by the treating physician, the airline’s own approval, ground ambulances at departure and arrival, and confirmation that the receiving centre can admit at the arrival hour.
Air ambulance is a separate route with its own timetable. Where it is genuinely necessary the plan says so; where it is not, it is an expensive substitute for planning earlier.
Topic
More in Before your programme
- Which medical records to send, and what to do without themA discharge summary and imaging of the affected area are the minimum. Send what you have — the plan is still written, the estimate is just wider.
- What to bring, including what people forgetMedication in original packaging, the imaging, familiar footwear and the walking aid already in use — and a separate list for the companion.
