Medical Escort Policy

This policy sets out practical guidance for Jet Rescue Air Ambulance managers and staff who organize and undertake patient transfers to and from other hospitals. The policy is designed to ensure safety for the patient, and the welfare of any member of staff involved in escort duties.

Why is this policy necessary?

Escorts may be necessary when a patient requires investigation or treatment at a hospital located far away from their current location. The escort may involve accompanying the patient to and / or from the receiving hospital. This may include a short term or long term stay for the patient.
Whatever the circumstances, escorting staff and managers need to be clear about what is expected of them, and their accountability to the patient and their employer. This policy is designed to offer advice and guidance, but cannot cover all eventualities.

General Principles

Assessment and communication of care needs before transfer
Preparation and communication are important. Whether the transfer be planned or unplanned, there should be contact between Jet Rescue Air Ambulance and the receiving hospital before the transfer, to ensure that the patient is expected, and the patient’s care needs have been explained to the receiving hospital.

It is recommended that a referral to the hospital is made in writing, preferably in advance of the journey. In an emergency a phone call may be sufficient, however in all cases a copy of a referral letter should accompany the patient. Medical and nursing notes can be brought with the patient by the escort staff, but should not be left at the receiving hospital as they are the property of Jet Rescue Air Ambulance. If necessary, photocopies of relevant medical and nursing notes should be arranged before the transfer. A transfer form, containing relevant medical and nursing information should also be completed, and can be left with the patient, as long as a copy remains in the Jet Rescue Air Ambulance medical / nursing notes.

An assessment should be made of whether the patient requires an escort, and if so, what level of staff is required. Some patients may be fit enough to travel on their own, using their own transport, or be escorted by a relative or volunteer. At the other extreme, a critical ill patient in ITU may require a full medical team. This decision should be made by the Director of Operations, seeking advice from the medical staff where necessary, and taking into account risk factors.

Duty of care
Jet Rescue Air Ambulance has a duty of care to ensure that its patients are safe. This duty of care continues while the patient is under the care of Jet Rescue Air Ambulance, which would include transit to or from a hospital.

The patient remains in the care of Jet Rescue Air Ambulance, up until the point that handover takes place between Jet Rescue Air Ambulance staff, and the receiving hospital’s staff. At the conclusion of handover, the receiving hospital should assume full responsibility for all care needs of the patient. On completion of the treatment, it should be the responsibility of the receiving hospital to ensure that the patient is reassessed and re-stabilized before handover to Jet Rescue Air Ambulance.

Should the handover be delayed beyond what it reasonably expected, the member of staff escorting the patient should draw the matter to the receiving hospital’s attention, seeking management support where necessary. Should this not resolve the issue, the escort should contact the Jet Rescue Operations Director (or out of hours, the site manager) at Jet Rescue Air Ambulance to seek their advice.


Employment issues
The role of the escorting staff is to:
1) Ensure the patient arrives at the receiving hospital safely
2) Hand over care to the receiving hospital’s staff
3) Accept hand over from the receiving hospital’s staff and to return the patient safely.

As a general rule, an employee of Jet Rescue Air Ambulance would require an employment contract in order to practice on hospital’s premises. In the case of staff visiting a hospital for practice experience or teaching, for example, an honorary contract may suffice, however this is unusual in the case of escorted patients.

As part of their duty of care, Jet Rescue Air Ambulance staff must provide care up and to the point of handover of the patient to the receiving hospital, but once handover has been effected, the receiving hospital can not provide vicarious liability to an escort nurse, unless an honorary contract is in place. Neither can Jet Rescue Air Ambulance be held liable for care given by its own staff on a hospital’s premises, once the receiving hospital has accepted a duty of care for that patient following handover. Staff is therefore strongly advised not to carry out clinical duties once the care of the patient has been handed over, even for a short period of time. They must however ensure the patient is safe before and during the period of handover.

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Does your Travel Insurance cover Medical Evacuation?

Scottsdale, Arizona - No matter where you are going to on vacation or for how long, at Jet Rescue Air Ambulance we always stress that you make sure your travel insurance covers medical treatment and emergency evacuation. When searching or buying your travel insurance, don’t always assume you are covered for everything. In general travel insurances cover lost or delayed baggage, flight delays, missed departure and flight cancellation. However, more serious matters such as accidents or illness aren`t always covered.

Active vacations..
Planning an active vacation? Take into account that if you are planning an active or extreme vacation with activities such as bungee jumping, skydiving, mountain climbing or underwater sports you have run the risk that cover for injuries as a result of these activities is excluded in the travel insurance policy.

No insurance at all..
It amazes us that literally thousands of people still go on vacation abroad without having a comprehensive travel insurance and thinking that an accident or injury would never happen to them. People do not realize that yes it can happen to you or your loved ones. Having an accident or falling ill abroad could cost thousands of Dollars, Euros or Pounds if you are not properly insured.

Just to give you an insight into the costs, domestic air medical evacuation cost averages in between 10 to 20,000 US Dollars, internationally this can exceed the 80,000 US Dollar barrier. These are substantial amounts of money. If you are not covered this can result in you or your loved ones having to sell the car, house or other valuable assets. Now do we want that? No.

In case you wish to organize a medical evacuation but have doubts about your insurance coverage..
It can happen that you wish to evacuate yourself or your loved ones as soon as possible but you have doubts about your insurance coverage. In that case Jet Rescue Air Ambulance can help you out! Our Flight Coordinators will call your insurance company on your behalf and attempt to obtain pre-authorization for a medical evacuation. In addition, Jet Rescue Air Ambulance will submit all claim forms and other required documentation. If we are able to obtain an authorization from your insurance company we will not require payment at the time of service and evacuate you or your loved ones!

Do take into account that most insurance plans require that a specific medical necessity is met. This means that a physician or doctor must certify that the transportation by air ambulance is indicated and that transportation by other means may endanger the patient. Some plans require that the transport is a life threatening emergency or that the destination is the closest appropriate facility.

Be prepared..
If you have bought a comprehensive travel insurance and you are about to go on vacation, be prepared! Ask yourself if you know what to do in case of an emergency.

Some valuable tips;
- Ask your broker or insurance company if there is a manual with standard procedures in case of emergencies such as an accident/illness. Read it, know it.
- Always have the 24h emergency phone number on you (this might be the phone number of an assistance company in case the insurance company outsourced this activity).

Thanks to the excellent quality of our services Jet Rescue Air Ambulance has been chosen as an official provider for major insurance and assistance companies, around the world.

At Jet Rescue Air Ambulance we provide domestic and worldwide air ambulance service, 24 hours a day seven days a week. Our team of professionals is capable of organizing the most complex repatriation missions. If an accident or illness occurs during overseas travelling, Jet Rescue Air Ambulance will advise and transport you to the hospital of your choice. We will provide you with the safest, most reliable and hassle free air ambulance service and serve you efficiently, rapidly and cost-effective.

English Website:
http://www.jet-rescue.com

For Spanish
http://www.jetrescue.com.mx

Jet Rescue in action.. www.jet-rescue.com

Below you will find a small insight into our air ambulance operation. You can read more about our company on our website or via Facebook, in case you want to know what we are doing on a daily basis.

Jet Rescue Facebook

29/12 - Yesterday we had on site inspection of our Guadalajara and Toluca Bases by a new client with whom we will sign a contract for 500 flight hours a year. The client was very impressed with our operation.

29/12 - Saltillo Base has been inoperative the last few days due to bad weather - 0/0 visibility.

12/12 - First Revenue Flight for our new base in Saltillo. Congratulations guys! The air ambulance flight realized : Mazatlan (Mexico) to Denver (USA).

04/12 - Two air ambulance flight on one day, San Diego (USA) - Toluca (Mexico) and Santiago (Chile) - Toronto (USA), isn't a bad way to end the week!