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ICU ambulance: how it differs and when you need it

An ICU ambulance is not a bigger ambulance but a mobile intensive care unit: a transport ventilator, a monitor, a defibrillator, infusion pumps, hours of oxygen and an anaesthetist-intensivist on board. It is needed when the patient must not merely be transported but kept alive along the way.

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What to do right now

Vehicle class
Class B is a standard crew: stretcher, oxygen, medical kit. Class C is an ICU ambulance: the full set for intensive care in transit.
Equipment
Transport ventilator, monitor for ECG, blood pressure, saturation and capnography, defibrillator, syringe and infusion pumps, vacuum mattress, suction.
The crew
An anaesthetist-intensivist with valid accreditation; the exact composition depends on the nature of the call.
Drugs
Including strong opioids — AYUMED holds a licence for narcotic drugs, which allows full pain relief and sedation.
When a standard crew is not enough
A patient on ventilation or oxygen, unstable blood pressure, coma, acute heart attack or stroke, major trauma, ICU-to-ICU transfer, long-distance transport of a critical patient.

Call an ambulance if

Transfer from one intensive care unit to another
A patient on a ventilator or with a tracheostomy
Unstable circulation: blood pressure below 90, shock
Acute heart attack, stroke or major trauma requiring admission
Long-distance transport of a patient on oxygen or monitoring
Severe poisoning, coma or seizures not controlled by drugs

What not to do

Do not order a standard crew "to save money" for a patient on oxygen — nothing can be changed en route
Do not move a patient out of intensive care in a private vehicle
Do not confuse an ICU ambulance with "an ambulance with a doctor" — the difference is the equipment
Do not postpone a transfer over the price: deterioration costs more

What the crew does

Assessment from the discharge summary and preparation of equipment for the patient
Collection from the ICU, transfer with ventilation and infusions maintained
Continuous monitoring and intensive care en route
Handover to the receiving intensivist with a full report

This page is for information and does not replace a medical examination. If the condition worsens, call the crew: +7 (985) 887-82-52.

This page in Russian: Russian version.

Questions

How much does an ICU ambulance cost in Moscow?

ICU crew call-out 15,000 ₽, transport 6,000 ₽ per each started 30 minutes inside the MKAD, ventilation and monitoring by the price list per 30 minutes. Intercity — 200 ₽ per kilometre both ways plus the call-out.

Can an ICU ambulance travel long distances?

Yes, up to 2,000 km: oxygen is calculated for the whole route, the doctor stays throughout and a second driver is used on long legs.

Must the doctor be an intensivist?

Yes. An ICU crew under the licence for specialised emergency care in anaesthesiology and intensive care means a doctor with that specialty.