Booked by families who are not at the bedside
A long journey often starts with a phone call from someone who lives a long way from the patient. A daughter in the south of England arranging collection from Ysbyty Gwynedd. A son who needs his father brought home to North Wales after treatment elsewhere. You can book without being at the bedside. Tell us who we should speak to on the day, the pickup, and the address at the other end.
This is a private service you pay for. It is separate from free NHS patient transport. If you want the NHS service, ask the hospital looking after the person. If you want one private crew for the whole UK journey, that is what we arrange.
Getting home after falling ill on holiday
People become ill or injure themselves while they are away in the UK. A holiday on Anglesey, in Eryri, or in Llandudno can end with a hospital stay and a person who cannot sit in a hire car for the drive home. The same problem happens the other way round: a North Wales resident taken ill while visiting family in another part of the country, who now needs an ambulance rather than a train.
These are planned journeys once the hospital has said the person can travel. If they still need an emergency ambulance, call 999. When they are ready to travel, we can price the journey home. The service covers North Wales and throughout the UK, so the holiday does not have to have been in Wales.
How a long booking differs from a local one
The 3-hour minimum is the floor, not a typical long journey. A trip of several hours is priced by the hour at £115, and the online form uses the two places you enter so you see that figure before you pay. Tell us if the person uses a wheelchair or needs a stretcher, if oxygen is required, and if a relative is travelling. Mention anything that will make a stop necessary.
The vehicle is a white ambulance with yellow and green Battenburg markings, and the crew wear green uniforms. A hospital discharge, or a care home or hospice at one end, is described on the pages linked below.
Private ambulance prices
Do not use the £345 starting price as the cost of a long journey. That figure is the 3-hour minimum. A UK-wide journey is usually longer, and the form is there so the price matches the route.
Private ambulance transport is £115 per hour, with a 3-hour minimum, so journeys start from £345.
The first hour of waiting is included; after that, waiting is charged at £65/hr.
How pricing works
- Enter your journey and the patient’s needs.
- See your price online straight away.
- Book and pay securely.
The price covers the vehicle and crew for the journey. The first hour of waiting is included; after that, waiting is charged at £65/hr.
How to book
Someone booking from another part of the country, for a collection today, should call. The website cannot confirm a same-day crew.
Same-day bookings are by phone only, subject to availability. Call 01248 848337. The phone is answered 24 hours a day. You can email contact@medic1.co.uk. If you ask for a callback, we always call back within 24 hours. Online prices are for journeys from tomorrow onwards. This is planned transport. In an emergency, call 999.