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Posted

I will need to find a local service provider to accompany someone on an international flight from Bangkok to America in the next week. This patient will be ambulatory, can walk etc., but will require one or two flight paramedic or flight nurse.

I have been told Chula hospital and Siriraj hospitals can arrange this, though the patient is not resident in those hospitals. Does anyone know of any such service provider in Bangkok?

Posted

SOS can do it, but I think they are quite expensive.

Ditto Bumrungrad Hospital.

Don't know re Chula or Siriraj. Some years back I helped someone who was a patient at Chula and at that time the hospital could not do anything, the family & I had to arrange it all ourselves.

The airline may also be able to suggest something.

Posted

Thank you Sheryl, I knew you'd have an answer. Yes, we'll check with the airlines. I hope someone else can comment who's had experience.

Posted

May be worthwhile to check with International SOS for a quote anyway (02 205 7777); likely to be expensive but what you would get is the correct recommendations for escorts and in-flight support such as the need for Oxygen etc based on a medical report from the treating physician. These recommendations will comply with international commercial airline requirements and avoid a situation where the individual is refused boarding if the needed documentation (fit to fly medical certificate) is not in order.

Posted

It really depends a little on the patients needs. If the doctor just says must travel with companion that can be almost anyone. If it says a nurse or doctor it may be possible if you have relatives in the US to have them fly over and accomany the person back. This will certainly be cheaper. You also must get clearance to fly on a special form from the airline. If the flight has a US flight number the rules are much much more in your favour and the airlines must comply with them.

Posted

It really depends a little on the patients needs. If the doctor just says must travel with companion that can be almost anyone. If it says a nurse or doctor it may be possible if you have relatives in the US to have them fly over and accomany the person back. This will certainly be cheaper. You also must get clearance to fly on a special form from the airline. If the flight has a US flight number the rules are much much more in your favour and the airlines must comply with them.

Yes, some additional detail. United Airlines will be the chosen airline, but they use Thai for their Bangkok-Tokyo segment I believe. They have a "safety assistant" program which may work. The patient is a recovering psychiatric drug-induced patient, who will be properly medicated at the hospital in Bangkok prior to transport to airport. We are trying to stay with an United Airlines to handle everything, and thanks for your advice that US flight numbered flights are more in our favour.

Posted (edited)

The airliner might request a medical report from a local doctor, who has to examine the passenger and confirm on a special form (can be downloaded from the airliners website) that passenger is fit to fly and not a treath to onboard safety, to others or himself etc. This doctor might also be legalized to appoint someone to accompany the passenger, if so it could be any nurse he knows.

Success.

Edited by rubberduck
Posted (edited)

The airliner might request a medical report from a local doctor, who has to examine the passenger and confirm on a special form (can be downloaded from the airliners website) that passenger is fit to fly and not a treath to onboard safety, to others or himself etc. This doctor might also be legalized to appoint someone to accompany the passenger, if so it could be any nurse he knows.

Success.

Thank you. The patient is a young male, with a history of drug abuse, and is currently resident in a private psychiatric hospital in Bangkok for 14 days, the end of which he will be transported to U.S. His diagnosis is: drug-induced acute psychosis. He is being treated by psychiatrists with specialties in addiction psychiatry.

Edited by keemapoot
Posted (edited)

The airliner might request a medical report from a local doctor, who has to examine the passenger and confirm on a special form (can be downloaded from the airliners website) that passenger is fit to fly and not a treath to onboard safety, to others or himself etc. This doctor might also be legalized to appoint someone to accompany the passenger, if so it could be any nurse he knows.

Success.

Thank you. The patient is a young male, with a history of drug abuse, and is currently resident in a private psychiatric hospital in Bangkok for 14 days, the end of which he will be transported to U.S. His diagnosis is: drug-induced acute psychosis. He is being treated by psychiatrists with specialties in addiction psychiatry.

A clearance will be needed. The requirement will be for somone who is legally permitted to sedate the patient if needed in flight and to handle personal needs like toileting. THe airline if informed will have to provide wheelchair services to transfer the patient at the airport.

You will save a fortune if you can give someone in the states who is qualified a holiday. A nurse would probably be fully acceptible. The qualification held is the thing not who apoints him/her.

It may also be possible to obtain a nurse or doctor privately here who will be overjoyed at a free trip to the usa. The problem with this however is visas so check with the US embassy re this. They may be able to assist facilitating them.

Sherryl....you are not due for a trip to the states are you?

In a similar situation from India to the UK the person had no trouble obtaining an Indian licenced Doctor free but had to provide him an open return business class ticket.

Edited by harrry
  • Like 1
Posted

The airliner might request a medical report from a local doctor, who has to examine the passenger and confirm on a special form (can be downloaded from the airliners website) that passenger is fit to fly and not a treath to onboard safety, to others or himself etc. This doctor might also be legalized to appoint someone to accompany the passenger, if so it could be any nurse he knows.

Success.

Thank you. The patient is a young male, with a history of drug abuse, and is currently resident in a private psychiatric hospital in Bangkok for 14 days, the end of which he will be transported to U.S. His diagnosis is: drug-induced acute psychosis. He is being treated by psychiatrists with specialties in addiction psychiatry.

A clearance will be needed. The requirement will be for somone who is legally permitted to sedate the patient if needed in flight and to handle personal needs like toileting. THe airline if informed will have to provide wheelchair services to transfer the patient at the airport.

You will save a fortune if you can give someone in the states who is qualified a holday. A nurse would probably be fully acceptible. The qualification held is the thing not who apoints him/her

The patient is fully able to handle personal toileting needs, etc.. He will be sedated, and will walk slowly, so yes, wheelchair will be needed. Yes, I think a nurse who can administer sedatives would be the best if we can find that. He is non-violent, but there is a chance of recurring paranoia. His doctor's say that will all be solved with a long-lasting injection at the hospital that will last for 3 days or more, so should be no problems like that.

Posted (edited)

Is this person being repatriated at his own request ?

Yes. His medical care is being taken care of by his father in Thailand, and with the close cooperation of his mother in America. He will go directly under care of the hospital in America upon arrival.

Edited by keemapoot
Posted

IOM, the International Organization for Migration, has the capability to arrange escorts: http://th.iom.int/

They usually take care of movement of refugees, some of whom many need medical escorts. As such, the have the contacts to for nurses, etc.

You might give them a shout.

18th Floor Rajanakarn Building
183 South Sathorn Road
Satorn District Bangkok 10120 Thailand
Phone: +66.2 343 93 00
Fax: +66.2 343 93 99
  • Like 2
Posted

Might be worth contacting services such as Sober Escorts, they have specialists that are used to transporting this type of client to overseas locations.

Ideally a Psych Nurse and another should suffice. Done a few of these repatriations myself.

Posted

You can also contact the US embassy Citizen services. They can also advise contact details of people providing this service.

Sent from my iPhone using ThaiVisa app

Posted (edited)

Dear Sir

Our company : NC international medicare provided medical transportation both evacuation and repatriation.We are qualified and experience team for medicvac.

My name is Nisa. Please contact me directly to my e-mail : [email protected]. for quotation price and detail. I need some detail such destination and medical report to ask for medical permission from airline. We are going toprocess every step from the hospital in Thailand

Our team already have US VISA , ready to repatriation any day next week.

Best regard Nisa

Edited by nisa1304161
Posted

Thanks to all who contributed thus far. Tonight the patient is much, much better, and may only require family escort, but we will not know this for sure until Monday night after doctor's evaluation. I will follow up all leads and advice given so far, and report back any updates. I hope this thread may be useful for others in the future.

Posted

Indeed yes. In fact once it is done I will pin it. Please add any comments or additional info (including costs) that you may have found.

One bit of advise -- don't take chances. How a patient is within the confines of the hospital and how they may be after a trip to the airport, being in the noisy airport and getting ion a plane etc may differ. I know of cases where people were forced off planes after boarding because they got agitated or acted strangely (no refund of the ticket, either). The pilot & crew naturally need to ensure the security of the flight and will not allow on board someone who seems like they might create a disturbance. Having a medical attendant with the wherewithal to sedate could make the difference.

Posted (edited)

Sheryl

Precisely, which is why I asked earlier if this person had requested repatriation voluntarily.

An "enforced" repatriation is much more likely to lead to problems and sedating a fully clothed disturbed individual within the confines of a air-plane cabin is not a task I would wish to undertake even if I had the wherewithal !

Edited by jrtmedic
Posted

Sheryl

Precisely, which is why I asked earlier if this person had requested repatriation voluntarily.

An "enforced" repatriation is much more likely to lead to problems and sedating a fully clothed disturbed individual within the confines of a air-plane cabin is not a task I would wish to undertake even if I had the wherewithal !

Yes, some additional detail today. The patient knows and wants to be repatriated, is understanding mostly everything and agrees with the plan. The disorganized thinking and other negative factors have subsided. We will take the advice of doctors, and I will investigate before Monday all the pricing options and post them on this thread.

Posted (edited)

I've been involved in organizing a few voluntary medical repatriations and there is some good advice here -- contact your Embassy/Consulate for recommentations, it may be cheaper for a family member to come from the U.S. than a paid escort from Thailand, etc.

The doctor's Fitness to Fly letter is going to govern the skill level of the companion. It may list the need for a companion with specific credentials -- i.e. a current R.N. license and not a retired R.N. who has let her license lapse. For understandable reasons, the doctors don't want to produce the Fitness to Fly letter until the last minute. In my experience, during the time of making travel arrangements, they'll often paint a rather negative picture, causing everyone to scurry around lining up M.D., stretchers, etc, only to have them decide at the last minute that all that's needed is for the patient to travel with a companion who's a level-headed person.

Most of my experience has been with people with orthopedic problems and/or dementia. I'd suggest definitely ordering wheelchair service even if the person is ambulatory. There's no extra charge for wheelchair service and you get to board first and jump the queue at the security check-points. Also consider traveling business class or even first class. The seats are often closer to the toilets, higher flight attendant/passenger ratio, more comfortable seating and fewer distractions that could agitate the patient. It's a help, too, if the traveling companion is a native speaker of the patient's language -- even better if it's a trusted friend or family member.

Consider the length of the layovers. My experience has been with Korean Air out of CM and often the layover in Seoul for North American destinations is over 10 hours. A day hotel, right in the airport, is often a good investment for waiting out the layover.

Sounds like they've covered the important need to have qualified people meeting the flight at the destination and a post-return care plan in place. Sometimes this is overlooked.

Edited by NancyL
Posted

Today, I am in the process of contacting the medical escort services. FYI, this is a list provided by the U.S. Embassy U.S. citizens services here 3 companies in Bangkok: http://bangkok.usembassy.gov/medical_escorts.html

It may also be worth checking the prices for someone to come from the US too. Whichever way you do it someone will have to travel both ways. Someone from the US could possibly communitcte more easily.

Posted

Today, I am in the process of contacting the medical escort services. FYI, this is a list provided by the U.S. Embassy U.S. citizens services here 3 companies in Bangkok: http://bangkok.usembassy.gov/medical_escorts.html

It may also be worth checking the prices for someone to come from the US too. Whichever way you do it someone will have to travel both ways. Someone from the US could possibly communitcte more easily.

Thanks, yes, we are also investigating that. Altogether, I have contacted 5 service providers in Bangkok, and will post details later of their services and quotes.

Posted

An update with responses and pricing by service providers.

First, the doctor has cleared and is issuing a "fit to fly" medical certificate today for the patient, and because the patient is now very stable, the patient's mother will act as sole escort, with no need for a medical escort. However, I did receive some rapid responses from some medical flight evac/escort services and will detail them here:

1. The most rapid response to my enquiry came from Dr. Nisa at NC International Medicare (she posted above in this thread & easy to google) who provided advice by phone and a very rapid quote. That service offered was comprehensive with doctor and nurse escort. That option will be for those who need extensive in-flight support and was around 700k.

2. The 2nd most rapid response came from Samitivej hospital's Aeromedical transport dept. mgr., and was for nurse-only escort. That quote was around 40,000 Baht + airline ticket & accomodations one night in U.S. (this one listed by the U.S. Embassy in the link I provided earlier in this thread)

3. The 3rd response was on Monday, and was from the Bumrungrad Hospital's similar service. This response was not as rapid because the manager was out of country on a medical evac, but they also have a team standing by for phone contact. I did not get a quote as we had already been given patient clearance at that point.

I will post one final time when the patient arrives safely in the U.S., but for anyone needing this service in the future, these are the companies I found who offer this as of this date in Bangkok, and you can get a rough idea of the cost of basic nurse escort only, and then full medical doctor plus nurse service.

Posted

IOM, the International Organization for Migration, has the capability to arrange escorts: http://th.iom.int/

They usually take care of movement of refugees, some of whom many need medical escorts. As such, the have the contacts to for nurses, etc.

You might give them a shout.

18th Floor Rajanakarn Building
183 South Sathorn Road
Satorn District Bangkok 10120 Thailand
Phone: +66.2 343 93 00
Fax: +66.2 343 93 99

A late update to this thread, the IOM did finally contact me by email. They are unable to provide services to private citizens, but were kind to respond with references to hospitals already mentioned in this thread. BTW, the patient is safe at home in the U.S. recovering.

Posted

Glad to hear it, and tghanks again for your help. I have summarized the information on a pinned notice in this forum.

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