What Is Medical Repatriation?
A simple guide to how we bring you or your loved one home — safely, clinically, and with full UK oversight.
How Does Medical Repatriation Work?
The Bed-to-Bed Journey
At SkyCare, we deliver medical repatriation as a fully managed, bed-to-bed service. From your first call to final handover, our UK-based team handles every detail — with clinical oversight at every stage.
- Initial assessment: We speak with the patient, family, or insurer to understand the situation and medical condition.
- Medical handover: Our clinical team contacts the hospital or clinic abroad to gather all essential medical information.
- Transport planning: We identify the safest and most suitable method — air ambulance, commercial medical escort, or ground ambulance.
- Medical escort assigned: We assign a UK-trained doctor or nurse based on the patient’s condition and transport type.
- Journey preparation: We coordinate flights, equipment, and ground handling with full medical readiness.
- International transfer: Our escort team accompanies the patient through every leg of the journey.
- Final handover: On arrival in the UK, our team provides a full clinical handover at home or hospital, ensuring continuity of care.
Meanwhile, we keep family members informed throughout, so you’re never left wondering what’s happening next.
Your Medical Transport Options
✈️ Air Ambulance
For critically ill patients who need intensive care during transport. A dedicated aircraft is equipped with ICU-level medical support and a specialist team.
👨⚕️ Commercial Medical Escort
For stable patients who can fly on a commercial airline but require medical supervision. Our UK-based doctors or nurses escort them from bed to bed.
🚑 Ground Ambulance (Europe Only)
For shorter journeys within Europe, we provide private ground ambulances with trained clinical teams for door-to-door care.
All options include full bed-to-bed service — from hospital abroad to UK arrival, with full clinical oversight.
Choosing the Right Repatriation Method
If you’re unsure which repatriation method suits your situation, we’re here to help. Our clinical coordination team carefully assesses your medical needs, location, and urgency to recommend the most appropriate and cost-effective solution.
What We Consider
To begin with, we look at several key factors that help guide our recommendation:
- Medical stability: Can the patient fly commercially, or is intensive care required during transport?
- Distance and geography: Is the journey short enough for road ambulance, or do we need air support?
- Time sensitivity: How quickly does the transfer need to happen? Some cases require same-day deployment.
- Cost considerations: In some situations, a commercial medical escort may be a more efficient solution than an air ambulance — without compromising safety.
Useful Tools to Help You Decide
In addition, we’ve created several helpful resources so you can better understand your options:
- Medical Repatriation Cost Guide →
- Sea-Level Flights Explained →
- Sick on Holiday – What Are Your Options? →
- Medical Escort Pricing Explained →
As a result, you won’t need to figure this out alone. Our UK-led team will guide you through every step, ensuring the most appropriate and safest transport method for your needs.
Why Choose SkyCare Repatriation?
In addition to our 24/7 response, we offer full clinical oversight and UK-led coordination from start to finish.
Why Families and Insurers Trust Us
More importantly, every repatriation is managed by a team of professionals who understand the urgency, stress, and complexity involved. Here’s what sets us apart:
- British medical teams: Our escorts are UK-trained clinicians with NHS and hospital experience.
- London-based coordination: Our repatriation team manages every detail from our central office, ensuring clear communication and fast decisions.
- Oversight at every stage: Even when we use a trusted third-party aircraft, our SkyCare medical team remains in charge of the care plan.
- Family-first communication: Throughout the journey, we keep families updated so they always know what’s happening.
- Trusted internationally, governed locally: We deliver worldwide repatriation with British standards, professionalism, and compassion.
That’s why clients continue to choose SkyCare for complex cases — we combine global reach with the personal service of a UK-based provider.
Importantly, we are actively working towards EURAMI accreditation. While that process is ongoing, our UK medical services are already fully regulated by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), and our aviation safety is governed by the CAA.
Regulatory Standards & Safety
At SkyCare, clinical governance and patient safety aren’t just requirements — they’re central to how we operate. That’s why every repatriation follows strict UK and international standards.
To give you peace of mind, here’s how we maintain the highest levels of oversight:
- Care Quality Commission (CQC): The CQC regulates all of our UK-based medical services. You can view our registration here.
- Civil Aviation Authority (CAA): Our flight operations follow CAA regulations to ensure full compliance with aviation safety protocols.
- EURAMI standards: We support the principles set by EURAMI and are actively working toward full accreditation, aligning our services with their global best practices.
Therefore, you can trust that every journey is backed by governance, safety, and professionalism — even before formal accreditation is finalised.
Our UK-led medical team is ready 24/7 to guide you through the safest repatriation options.
Need to Get Someone Home Quickly?
Our UK-led medical team is ready 24/7 to guide you through the safest repatriation options.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed or unsure where to begin, we’re here to help. SkyCare provides fast, fully managed medical repatriation with full clinical oversight — from anywhere in the world.
As a result, you get peace of mind, medical safety, and clear communication — every step of the way.
Feedback
What our clients say.
Commercial Medical Escort from London to Bulgaria
I couldn’t praise Craig and the team more! Craig was a literal life-saver and helped me so much during one of the toughest times in my life. He organised everything in less than 24 hours. If you ever need medical repatriation, SkyCare are the one and only choice you should be considering.
Following a very poor and frustrating experience with a medical insurance company who seemed focussed only on delaying matters we contacted SkyCare to organise medical repatriation for a family member we needed to get back to the UK. From start to finish we felt SkyCare offered the highest level of service obviously wanting the best medically for our relative but also professionally and speedily dealing with the necessary administration and formalities when coming from Iceland to the UK…
“The team at SkyCare could not have done more in supporting me getting my partner home. The transfer care was second to none and the support leading up to the transfer was excellent. David (complete with his broken leg) arrived back to a bed in an NHS hospital arranged by SkyCare. There really are not enough superlatives to describe the difference Craig, Ben, Ross etc all made. Thank you.”
“SkyCare have truly been lifesavers for us and our daughter who was taken ill overseas. They not only arranged the escorted flight home for our daughter but undertook all the hard graft of locating and liaising with the relevant UK hospital to get our daughter admitted directly on arrival in the UK. First Class Service!”
I’m so grateful to Craig and the team at SkyCare for guiding us through a difficult period. The team were always responsive and went above and beyond to assist our specific circumstances and challenges, to find a solution that was a safe and practical for us. They were personal and professional and treated us with sensitivity and compassion. I would 100% recommend them to everyone.
Commercial Medical Escort from Funchal to London
At a very desperate time, I was fortunate enough to find SkyCare and their wonderful team. My mother had a stroke overseas. The insurance team let us down badly so I looked at finding independent services to repatriate her back to the UK. SkyCare were able to provide a detailed and transparent price breakdown within 2 hrs . They provided a new quote within 30 min when we had to adjust an element of the repatriation. My insurance service would not provide a detailed quote…
Road Ambulance from Worthing to London
A highly professional service, performed so efficiently at a moments notice, with kindness and even a little humour at such a difficult time for us. Highly recommend.
Craig and Ben were absolutely brilliant! The process was flawless and after the chaos of the incident that happened to my mum, Craig was fantastic in organizing everything so I didn’t need to worry! It went seamlessly and everyone was so kind! Best money spent to get my mum home for emergency surgery!! Hi Craig my name is Frank father of Louise (patient) & grandad of Liberty. Your company is exceptional, professional, with a wonderful caring attitude. Thank you so much for looking after my daughter. I recommend your company highly.
Superb service, from first contact to a positive result of repatriating my husband to a UK hospital, the support and care was fantastic. My husband Jim had a stroke at our house in Greece, after emergency treatment he was placed on a ward, which was awful. He had lost his speech and all movement on his right hand side. It is up to relatives to look after the patient in hospital, they only provide medical care. I was so stressed, trying to care for him…
Medical Repatriation Advice and Support
I recently spoke to Craig from SkyCare when my mum was seriously injured overseas and it looked like a medical repatriation was needed. His advice and communication was superb, helping me to navigate a market which appears to be full of brokers with misleading prices and shocking reviews. Fortunately, my mum was deemed stable enough to fly home commercially, and yet Craig still continued to provide advice even though…
Air Ambulance from Spain to London
SkyCare were beyond brilliant with us bringing my Dad back home to Wales by Air Ambulance after he suffered a major stroke in Tenerife. We were really impressed with the whole team’s professionalism and expertise from the first moment we contacted them to the day of the repatriation and even managing to reserve Dad a bed in the Stroke unit in Wrexham Hospital to avoid the delay and trauma of A&E after a very long day travelling…
Airport-to-Hospital Medical Transfer in London
Straightforward and genuine. Craig helped us get our mum safely from the airport to the hospital. Highly recommended.
Commercial Medical Escort from Boston, MA to London
SkyCare made a complex overseas transfer from Boston to London feel effortless. Craig and Sarah were outstanding — calm, professional, and always in touch. They handled everything, from visas to flight logistics, with genuine care and attention. The costs were very reasonable, but it was their empathy and support for both patient and family that made all the difference. I can’t recommend them enough.
Vietnam to London — Medical Repatriation by SkyCare.
Fantastic professional company. We couldn’t have done this without them. My friend suffered a stroke and was paralysed on the right side. Due to a technicality, his insurance wouldn’t cover repatriation, so we had to go private. If anyone is ever in the same position, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend SkyCare. They made a stressful situation feel manageable, and I’m so grateful for their calm, capable support throughout.
France to UK — Ski Injury Repatriation by SkyCare.
Fantastic service. I was repatriated from France after a skiing accident with multiple injuries. We contacted Craig at 4am and by 10pm I was home — ground ambulance, air ambulance, and ground ambulance again. Everything went smoothly with incredible medical care and kindness. After two miserable weeks in hospital, I finally felt safe and supported. I cannot thank SkyCare enough and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them.
Vietnam to London — Stroke Repatriation by SkyCare.
Amazing team of people. My brother had a stroke in Vietnam and the insurance company were useless. SkyCare guided me through the process, sorted everything out, and got him safely home. The whole team were fantastic, but special thanks to the medical crew — Adam and Sarah — who flew out and did an incredible job. I can’t recommend SkyCare enough for their calm, professional help in such a difficult time.
UK to Malaysia — Long-Haul Medical Repatriation by SkyCare.
If you’re in the UK looking for a repatriation company, I couldn’t recommend SkyCare enough. They arranged medical transport for my dad from London to Kuala Lumpur — a 12-hour flight. From my first message, they responded quickly and handled all documents and approvals efficiently. Huge thanks to Craig for making everything smooth and to Nurse Nav for caring for my dad the whole way home.
Spain to UK — Stroke Repatriation by SkyCare.
SkyCare were brilliant with us, helping to bring my dad home to England after he suffered a stroke in Spain. From the moment we reached out to the day of the repatriation itself, the entire team showed professionalism, compassion, and expertise. We felt fully supported and reassured throughout the process. Thank you to everyone involved — I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend SkyCare to anyone in a similar situation.
Las Palmas to UK — Air Ambulance Repatriation by SkyCare.
Thank you to Craig and Ben for organising our return home from Las Palmas. My dad was extremely anxious about the process, but everything ran so smoothly at every stage. Mum is now safe in Maidstone Hospital, and she’s just happy to be somewhere she can easily communicate. The whole experience was calm, compassionate, and professional — we really appreciate everything SkyCare did to make it seamless.
— Pete McNair (via email)
France to UK — COVID-Era Medical Repatriation by SkyCare.
From first contact to the final update confirming safe arrival, SkyCare’s care and coordination were second to none. They handled all COVID testing, documents, and border requirements with professionalism and warmth. Repatriating two elderly parents during a pandemic was daunting, but they made the process seamless — even providing journey tracking door to door. Their genuine care and clear communication reassured us at every stage. I highly recommend SkyCare for compassionate international patient transfers.
Cannot thank the team at BM Ambulance enough for getting my Dad home from Spain. Craig/Sarah/James/Emma & Danny were all absolutely amazing. It was a huge 24 hour journey and they made Mum & Dad feel comfortable and safe the entire way. I don’t think my Dad would have made it without your help. He’s still not in the best of health but at least we have him home. We definitely could not have done this without you. Thank you all involved. Amazing people offering a fantastic service. x
I would have given more than 5 stars if I could have. A big thank you to Craig, Sarah and John for the safe delivery of our much loved mum, mother in law, Nan and great grandmother from Spain after suffering a stroke.
Accreditations
International Assistance Group (IAG) accredited
AOC (Air operator certificate) #2480
British Business & General Aviation Association
