Top Tips for Setting Up a Private Ambulance Service
In the world of healthcare, several major challenges are developing. In some developed countries, existing resources for patient services are stretched to breaking point. For example, many developed countries are struggling to support patient caseloads, and routine operations and medical procedures may be delayed as the most seriously ill need to be treated and managed as a priority.
The recent COVID-19 pandemic stretched healthcare systems that were already strained and created challenges to assessing and treating patients when there was a need to work remotely to slow the spread of the virus. While the most devastating effects of the pandemic seem to have abated, there are still delays and issues that were caused by this virus across the healthcare economy. Pre-hospital care is also in a state of crisis in many countries with ambulances struggling to achieve government-mandated response times.
In these circumstances, there has been a rise in private contracted ambulance firms being used to relieve the pressure on the emergency systems. If you’re considering setting up a private ambulance service, this article will be of benefit to you. Some top tips are discussed that will help your private firm flourish in this challenging pre-hospital environment.
Determine your niche of pre-hospital care
Firstly, it’s important to identify which part of the pre-hospital care your ambulance firm will deliver. This will have an impact on the vehicles you require and the level of training for the staff that you employ.
For example, patient transport services typically take non-emergency patients to routine appointments and outpatient clinics. The need for emergency response vehicles isn’t required as the transport will be booked ahead of time. Conversely, if you intend to serve emergency patients, you’ll need to invest in rapid response ambulances and trained technician and paramedic staff.
In short, firstly determine the niche that you’ll operate in as this will allow you to plan suitable staff and vehicle considerations.
Upfit commercial vehicles
As a private ambulance service, you may find that it’s more cost-effective to invest in commercial vehicles that haven’t been specifically designed for medical use and then upgrade them. For example, if you’re responding to emergencies, fleet vehicles will need sirens and lights to be installed on them.
This process is called upfitting and firms such as the one that can be found at https://tcsupfitting.com/emergency-vehicles/ specialize in these vehicle modifications. Search online for upfitting companies that have extensive experience in the pre-hospital sector of care and check that they have the equipment you need for your firm. Ideally, you will want to contact several specialist providers to ensure that you’re getting the best possible price for these vehicle upgrades. In addition, you’ll want to be assured that you’re dealing with a company that has built a reputation for quality in this field of vehicle modification.
Get a range of quotes and look for other business reviews of the firm to ensure that they have previous clients in this field have been satisfied.
Invest in the latest technology
As a brief final point, it’s important to invest in the latest technology to help your firm function effectively. For example, you may need to purchase the latest sat nav units for your fleet vehicles to ensure that your ambulance drivers can reach addresses or the scenes of incidents quickly and efficiently.
You may also wish to investigate advanced technologies in the form of unmanned drones. These are being increasingly used in pre-hospital emergency care to deliver life-saving payloads such as defibrillators or emergency drugs to the scene of accidents or medical emergencies.