Open 24 hours, every day of the year
Ralmed coordinates care for international patients travelling to South Africa for treatment, from the flight in to admission at the receiving hospital.
At a glance
The service
An international patient service plans the medical journey for someone coming from abroad for treatment, so that the flight, the transfer and the hospital admission fit together.
Most of the international patients Ralmed looks after travel from elsewhere in Africa for care that is not available at home. Families and referring doctors deal with one Ralmed team for the whole journey, and every transfer runs under the emergency medical service rules of the National Health Act.
The same team can plan the journey home after treatment, once the treating doctors agree the patient is fit to travel.
Who it is for
The people who call about an international patient are usually planning care for someone else, often from another country.
Doctors abroad sending a patient to a South African hospital or specialist.
Relatives arranging treatment for a parent, partner or child who needs care in South Africa.
Travel insurers and medical funders who need a transfer planned and documented, and in many cases the hospital care funded and managed as well.
Patients who have finished treatment in South Africa and need a safe journey home.
What we coordinate
We plan each stage of the journey with the family, the referring doctor and the receiving hospital. This is what the service covers.
| Stage | What we coordinate |
|---|---|
| Before travel | The medical reports, the receiving hospital or specialist, and funding or insurance approval. |
| The flight | An air ambulance flight into South Africa, crewed to the patient's needs, from basic life support to a doctor on board. |
| Arrival | A Ralmed road ambulance meets the flight and takes the patient on to the receiving hospital. |
| Admission | We work with the receiving hospital so the patient is expected, and hand over the clinical detail its team needs. |
| During the stay | Our team stays on hand for questions from the family while the patient is in hospital. |
| The journey home | A return flight and transfers, planned when the treating doctors agree the patient can travel. |
How it works
01
Call or WhatsApp with the patient's location, the medical reports and where they need to be treated.
02
Our medical team reviews the reports and plans the flight, the crew and the transfer.
03
We send a quote and give insurers or funders the details they need to approve the journey.
04
The patient flies in, our road crew meets them, and we hand over to the receiving hospital.
Planning treatment in South Africa for a patient abroad? Talk to our team.
One team for the whole journey. Families deal with one Ralmed team rather than arranging the flight, the transfer and the admission separately.
Our own ambulances. The road crew that meets the flight is Ralmed's, so the handover from air to road stays with one team.
Used to patients from across Africa. Most of the international patients we bring in travel from elsewhere on the continent.
Clinical support in Sandton. Our 24-hour GP practice and laboratory work from the same base as the ambulance service.
Cost
Each international patient journey is quoted separately, because the cost depends mostly on the flight, the medical crew and the transfers the patient needs.
These are the things that shape the quote:
Hospital and specialist fees are billed by the treating hospital and doctors, not by Ralmed. Ask the hospital for its estimate early, so the family or insurer can plan the full cost of treatment.
Your options
Some families arrange every part of an international patient journey themselves. This is how that compares with using one coordinating team.
| Option | Who arranges it | Suits | Things to weigh up |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coordinated service | One Ralmed team handles the flight, transfer and admission | Patients who need medical care throughout the journey | One quote for the travel and transfers, with the hospital billed separately |
| Arranging each part yourself | The family books the flight, ambulance and hospital separately | Families with time and local contacts | More calls and more handovers between providers who do not know each other |
| Scheduled flight, then a road transfer | The family books a seat; we meet the flight by road | Stable patients who can travel seated | No medical care on the flight itself unless an escort travels with them |
Get started
Send what you have about the international patient, and we will tell you what else is needed. You do not need every document before you first get in touch.
Head office
89 Impala Road, Kelvin View, Sandton
Johannesburg, South Africa.
Visa rules depend on the patient's nationality; check the Department of Home Affairs visa guidance. For the flight itself, see our air ambulance service.
Questions
Call 0861 725 633 or send a WhatsApp with the patient's details and where they are now. Our team explains the next steps, reviews the medical reports and plans the flight, the transfer and the admission. You can start before every document is in place.
Most of the international patients we look after travel to South Africa from elsewhere in Africa, for treatment that is not available at home. We also plan journeys for patients from further afield, and for South Africans coming home after being treated abroad.
The treating doctor's medical reports, the patient's passport details and, if already arranged, the receiving hospital or specialist. Funding or insurance details help too. Send what you have when you first call, and we will tell you what else is needed before the patient can travel.
Tell us if a hospital or specialist has already accepted the patient, and we will work with them on the admission. If nothing is arranged yet, tell us what treatment is needed, and we will talk you through the next steps before any travel is booked.
Hospital and specialist fees are billed by the treating hospital and doctors, and are paid by the patient, the family or their insurer. Ralmed's travel quote covers the flight and the transfers. Where an insurer would rather not pay hospitals upfront, our healthcare funding service can settle the hospital and specialist accounts directly and manage the case throughout.
Yes. Ralmed's air ambulance flights run both to and from South Africa, so the return journey can be planned with the same team. It is arranged once the treating doctors agree the patient is fit to travel, with the crew matched to the patient at that point.
A Ralmed road ambulance meets the flight and takes the patient straight to the receiving hospital. The crew hands over to the hospital team with the clinical detail they need, so the patient is expected when they arrive and their care carries on without a gap.
Yes. If the patient is already in a South African hospital and needs to move, our road ambulances can transfer them. For a longer move, or home to another country, we plan an air ambulance flight in the same way as an arrival.
Yes. We give travel insurers and medical funders the medical and travel details they need to approve a journey, and we can work directly with their case managers. For insurers who would rather not settle hospital accounts from abroad, we also fund and manage the treatment itself through our healthcare funding service.
No. Most of our international patients come to South Africa from elsewhere in Africa, but we plan journeys for patients from any country. Air ambulance flights are planned for domestic and international patients alike, around the patient's needs and the route.
Related services
The flight itself is run by our air ambulance service, and the hospital account can be funded and managed by our healthcare funding service. Patients who need a doctor after discharge can use our 24-hour practice, and our ambulance crews handle the transfers.
Send us the patient's details and medical reports, and we will plan the flight, the transfer and the admission as one journey. Call 0861 725 633 or send a WhatsApp, and one team will look after your international patients from arrival to admission.
