MEDICAL RESCUE INTERNATIONAL

International Maritime assistance, Ambulance,  Event Medical Cover, Drug and Alcohol Testing, International Medical Assistance, Emergency Evacuation, Pre Employment Medical Testing.

GROUND AMBULANCE TRANSFER

 Newcastle to Odessa, Ukraine

This was a unique case where, following a heart Attack (MI) complicated by diabetes a ships Captain was admitted to hospital in Newcastle in a critical condition. After a long stay in hospital where he received superb medical care from NHS specialists, he was finally transferred to another facility to begin the long road to rehabilitation. Unfortunately, his condition was complicated further by pressure sores as his health had generally subsided to a very low level.

 

After an extensive period of rehab, the Captain reached a point where, medically, he was not receiving any treatment and was fit enough to spend periods of time out of bed. Because of his frail condition and recently healed pressure sore, he was unable to sit for more than about 30 minutes and after a couple of hours out of bed, he was completely physically exhausted.

 

This meant that the option of him returning home on a scheduled flight was likely to be too much for him to handle and carried a significant risk of collapse along the route.

 

The option of an air ambulance was examined, however, the cost was huge. This was not the first time we have undertaken such a long trip, having completed a similar case some time ago.

 

After looking at all the options, it was decided that the most appropriate means to get the Captain home to Odessa was in a ground ambulance! At least in this way he would have medical supervision and assistance and would be able to rest, sit or walk around as it suited him best.

 

An overland trip was planned using our Mercedes Ambulance with two medical crew and mechanical support onboard. The round trip worked out to 3600 miles over some challenging roads!

 

The ambulance, with its crew and the patient left the UK by ferry and crossed to Holland. The drive proceeded through Holland, Germany and Poland and finally into the Ukraine. Roads in Western Europe were good and smooth, however, once the ambulance crossed into the Ukraine, the roads deteriorated badly and were more potholes than tarmac! The border was crossed at Medyna and the route followed was through Lviv to Kiev and then to Odessa.

 

In the event, the road from Lviv to Kiev was in very poor condition, although massive road reconstruction was taking place and a year from now, this will be a most acceptable route. The crew found the drive very interesting as well as challenging as road and direction signs were sporadic at best. Navigation was, at times, down to map reading and dead reckoning!

 

The notable part of this was that during the entire trip, the patient was comfortable and relaxed. The crew set up a mini DVD in the back of the ambulance and the patient was quite happy watching DVD's, reading, sitting for brief periods and sleeping. On arrival in Odessa, he informed the crew that he had a most comfortable journey and that, in his own opinion, this was the best option for getting him home safely. He was taken care of during the trip and the crew made every effort to negotiate the bad roads carefully so as not to cause him discomfort.

 

In terms of cost, this turned out to be the most effective solution and was priced in at less than a quarter of the price of an air ambulance. Whilst we would never advocate looking at cost over the health and welfare of the patient, we were able, in this case to provide a safe and very cost effective solution for the patient.

 

Mechanically there absolutely no difficulties, a testament to our well maintained vehicles and very careful approach to driving and safety by the crew.

The MRI ambulance on arrival at the hotel in Odessa, Ukraine which is located right on the sea front!

A Unique case—The patient was no longer ill enough to remain in Hospital, but not fit enough to fly home!

Date: November 2008

The crew and patient stopped, quite by chance, for a meal and comfort break at Marianborne in Germany which was the old East/ West German frontier.

Approaching the Polish / Ukraine border crossing took on an eerie aspect when heavy fog was encountered!

A selection of photographs taken en-route by the crew can be found at the end of this article.

The road surface in the Ukraine was very badly scarred with potholes and driving safely required a great deal of concentration and caution. Large reconstruction is taking place—but for the most part, the road surface is in a very bad state.

The ambulance at a fuel stop—there were a huge number of garages and fuel is readily available and very cheap (diesel £0.24 / Litre). The mechanic in the crew kept a close eye on the vehicle and checked everything at every stop!

Traffic in Lviv was very heavy, complicated by thousands of pedestrians and anciet Soviet era trams and a seeming complete lack of any form of rules! People routinely just walked out in front of the ambulance as if it wasn’t even there!

Finally, after dropping the patient off in good health, the ambulance reaches the Odessa Hotel parking which is right on the sea front. The ship in the background is the “Rodnick”

 

A map of the route taken by the ambulance and its’ crew - a round trip of over 3600 miles!