Outbound Aeromed Arrangements

Notes for flowchart:

Box 1 – The medical reason for an appointment in a UK hospital will be established between the patient and the referring doctor.

Box 2 – The doctor (or his staff) will make the appointment based on urgency, waiting lists in UK and the patient’s wishes.

Box 3 – The Station Medical Officer (at whichever Unit the patient is from) needs to know of the requirement. He/she will then record the need.

Box 4 – The Medical Centre will coordinate the return to the UK with the AECO at RAF Akrotiri Medical Centre.

Box 5 – The AECO will allocate a Priority Code for the return flight (P1, P2, P3, P4) depending on the need of the patient and the medical condition. This categorization will determine whether the patient is escorted to UK or not and what priority status the movements staff at the Air Terminal should follow.

Priority 1 -
Priority 2 -
Priority 3 -
Priority 4 – Unescorted, enable to exit the aircraft unaided, not in need of special medical treatment during the flight.

Box 6 – “Escort not required” status entitles the patient to allocation of a flight as a duty passenger ahead of any Indulgence passengers. It is not an unassailable guarantee of a flight as the RAF retains the “subject to the exigencies of the Service” caveat, to meet unexpected and higher priority tasks.

Box 7 – Once a priority status has been allocated, the patient (or their spouse) should approach their own Unit’s Travel Cell to make the detailed arrangements for the trip to the UK. This cannot be coordinated centrally (for instance, by the AECO) as there are a vast number of regulations regarding travel that differ according to status (Service or Civilian, Dependant or Locally Employed, WSBA or ESBA) and each Unit must retain control of their budgets on travel spend.

Box 8 – The variety of accommodation and travel methods (some patients may not be able to drive) have to be tailored to meet the individual and still kept within the plethora of regulations and budgetary controls. The Central Hotel Booking Service (CHBS) is available to Travel Cells at Unit level to provide details of accommodation available to meet the needs of individuals. They can often obtain faxed maps, contact details, and make any special arrangements to which you may be entitled.

Box 9 – As the patient may not in every case be the recognised entitled member of a household, the details of the journey will be passed to the entitled member. This ensures that costs for the journey are captured against the budget of the entitled person (rather than the patient who may work at a different unit).

Box 10 – The patient will be issued with all necessary booking documents (Hire Car booking, Rail Warrants, Hotel Booking Reference) by the Travel Cell. At this stage, the patient should be clear on how they are to get to their destination (assuming the travel arrangements go to schedule).

Box 11 – The patient may require escorting by the medical staff, to the air terminal only