Air ambulance hospital handover in China

The sending clinical brief

Ask the current treating team what condition, support, equipment and medication the flight team must be prepared to take over. Record whether departure is clinically agreed or only being considered. A discharge document may be useful, but the flight operator’s medical team must make its own mission assessment. If the patient changes before departure, a previously planned aircraft and road crew may no longer meet the need. The sending hospital must continue care until its authorised handover; a departure timetable does not replace that responsibility.

Aircraft-to-road exchange

The aircraft team and destination ambulance should agree where transfer is permitted, who moves the patient, how oxygen and monitoring continue, and who carries the clinical summary. An airport arrival time is only an estimate; the road provider needs live updates. Neither a flight booking nor an airport name proves that a vehicle can drive to the aircraft. Confirm the actual airport access with the operator and authorised local parties. If one team cannot accept the planned equipment interface, resolve the gap before movement rather than improvising at the aircraft door.

Receiving ward acknowledgement

The receiving institution must independently decide whether it accepts this patient, to which department and at what time. Give its responsible clinician a direct channel to the flight medical team where needed, with authorised clinical information. The road crew should receive the precise entrance and handover contact, not merely a hospital name. If the aircraft is diverted or arrives late, reconfirm acceptance before directing the vehicle elsewhere. An insurer’s guarantee or family request cannot create a clinical admission decision.

What counts as completion

The case record should show that the responsible receiving person has accepted the patient, records, medications and specified equipment. Note anything still pending for the family or payer, such as equipment retrieval or a revised invoice. The aircraft operator’s service may end at its own defined handover, while a coordinating desk tracks the road and hospital portions. Do not present a mission as bed to bed if either ground leg or hospital acceptance is missing. Written scope should state each operator’s endpoint and the contact responsible for a change.

If the destination is not ready

Ask whether the aircraft medical team can continue responsibility while the road team waits, or whether the operator requires another receiving facility. Neither road dispatch nor a landing clearance solves a closed receiving ward. Set a latest decision time before aircraft departure, identify who calls the destination clinician and who informs the family. If the agreed clinical receiver withdraws, pause the proposed hospital route and obtain a new acceptance. Do not ask a driver to choose a substitute hospital without the responsible clinical decision.

Decision pathway

If sending clearance, aircraft assessment and receiving acceptance align, assign each road and clinical handover. If condition or landing time changes, ask the relevant teams to reaccept the revised mission before departure or dispatch.

Information for a useful first enquiry

Sending and receiving facility/departments; treating and flight medical contacts; patient positioning and general support; two airports and dates; ground providers, handover points and payer.

For detailed clinical records, use a direct authorised exchange rather than this public page.