EMS Air Ambulance & Medical Repatriation Ltd. Reviews 91

this company needs to be closed, i can’t begin to explain how horrific the experience was. we used them to transport my brother from overseas back to london, at first the team seemed professional and responsive. then once we paid it began to all go downhill from there. the team at EMS lied continually throughout the whole process, they wasn’t answering the phone, they delayed us 3 times on the days they was suppose to be collecting him from the hospital, they informed us the private ambulance would collect him so we was expecting their ambulance of course, instead they sent a taxi! forgetting to mention he has broken pelvis and many other bones as to why he needed a private ambulance to stay flat.
and then informed us if he doesn’t get in the taxi that’s the only form of transport for 30km until he can then get into the ambulance. we had to get him into the taxi panicking and risking further damage to just get him to the ambulance, and once we finally got to the ambulance it began to get even worse, asking my mother who was in the ambulance with my brother to smuggle alcohol through borders, they never had any medications on board, the ambulance wasn’t even a private sign written once it was a standard turkish ambulance. it was dirty, they slept on lay-bys when they was suppose to switch teams so ambulance kept going.
they couldn’t have been any worse, honestly would be the biggest mistake of anyone using them it was a tragic experience and left us all very disturbed by what went on, and i can’t even go into detail if everything as there’s pages and pages of what went on with ems. please don’t use under any circumstances

I paid advance like they asked by wire transfer with a promise to provide service within 3-4 days. Never made any progress, no communications on status, when I reach out after several attempts, they asked for full payment. The hospital and other agencies I was working with noticed their fraudulent/incompetent behavior and decided to request refund which they agreed initially. It's been 7-8 months since then. Everytime one person picks phone and say matter is in review by their Compliance department, and there is no way to contact them, and they will never call you back. They will never respond to emails, they never provide any documented communication. Person receiving the phone repeats same one or two sentences and hangs up. They are good at misleading people in vulnerable condition, and they have no ethics.
STAY AWAY FROM THIS COMPANY.

Update:
So many incorrect statement in your reply. No progress was made in those few days except you asking for more payment. The hospital and other parties involved didn't want to continue with seeking your service after patient was able to travel again. We asked for the refund and you are reviewing it for several months with zero communication regarding that.
What is the status of the refund?

The convenience of not having to handle the many detailed logistics myself made this service exceptionally smooth. The team responded to my emergency medical situation with understanding, calm and courtesy. I needed to be transported back to my home for surgery on fractured limbs so could not fly on a commercial flight. They not only handled ground and air transport, medical communications with doctors/hospitals, transfer of records, but also airport security and customs clearances. They picked me up at the hospital in Canada and delivered me to my home hospital in the U.S. I was able to handle the paperwork through my smartphone. It did take 3 days to complete the transport but the only delay that wasn’t communicated expeditiously was the mechanical problem with the plane which couldn’t have been know until the morning of the flight home. Another plane was sent out and I still arrived home that evening. The medical crew on board and the pilots were all professional, kind, reassuring. I can highly recommend this service to anyone who needs to repatriate during a medical emergency.

I would just like to thank everyone involved with my dad's medical repatriation back to the UK after suffering a stroke whilst in spain. Admin staff were excellent with sorting out a bed at his local hospital and keeping me updated on a regular basis , and also to the medical crew that looked after him whilst being escorted home , very efficient and professional. Excellent service from the moment I contacted them to his safe arrival back to the UK, thank you all
Elizabeth Read

EMS Ambulance provided excellent service throughout my experience. The staff were professional, caring, and communicated clearly at every stage. The transport was safe, comfortable, and well-organised. I highly recommend EMS Ambulance for anyone needing reliable medical transport.

The service is first class, They show up on time and are fully prepared. The entire medical care ultimately involved four major surgeries and the round trip ems transport went entirely without a hitch and involved both a commercial flight with medical accompaniment and a private jet return also with medical accompaniment. Both flights from my home to Sedona and my return flight from Sedona to Seattle Virginia Mason hospital were "bed to bed". Flawless

Not very good

I hired EMS to urgently bring my mother — who was in intensive care in Poland — back to the UK. EMS knew the urgency and severity of the situation. Instead of acting responsibly, they exploited our desperation.

We chose EMS over other repatriation services because they guaranteed they could pick up my mother by 5:30pm CEST that same day. They confirmed in writing that everything — including flight permits and paperwork — was in place. But EMS never showed up. It quickly became clear they had no intention of doing so.

For 15 agonizing hours, EMS strung us along with false assurances. When we made our booking with EMS we were told that the plane was in Austria waiting to pick my mum up. Communication from EMS after they received payment was nonexistent and we had to call to receive any sort of update on the progress of the air ambulance. The representatives that we spoke to were extremely rude to us for daring to ask for an update throughout. EMS assured us that the air ambulance would arrive on time and would be with us shortly. Then after the agreed time passed, that the plane would be there at any moment. The hospital had already discharged my mother at this point based on the assurances made to us.

You can imagine our shock then, when hours after the air ambulance was due to arrive, we called and were told that the plane was actually in Switzerland. We were then told that the air ambulance couldn’t take off because it was raining. Rain was extremely light at the time in Zurich and when we spoke to the air ambulance company that actually successfully got my mother home, they told us that rain as an excuse for why a plane can’t take off is “ridiculous”. Even after the rain stopped, when we spoke to EMS we were told that they were waiting for permission to take off, despite the fact that before sending payment for our booking with EMS we asked if all permissions and requirements had been sorted and were told that they had. Then hours later when we called, we were told that the airport was closed and so the plane could not take off until the morning.

We slept overnight in the hospital, believing that the plane would be arriving imminently, however when we spoke to someone on the phone, were told that the plane could not fly to us because the finance team hadn’t checked our payment. We transferred the money over 12 hours prior to this and had provided proof of payment as we’d been requested to by EMS. We were told that the finance team did not start working until midday and so the air ambulance would be allocated to someone else.

Hours later, EMS finally admitted that the earliest possible repatriation would be three days later, on 15th May — well beyond the urgent timeline they had guaranteed. This delay could have cost my mother her life and we were told by the doctors that she only had hours to live whilst we were waiting. It seems very clear that EMS had no intention of arriving at the agreed time, and made false guarantees in order to get us to transfer money to them. It has been over a month and EMS have still not refunded the substantial funds I sent to them for a service that they never provided and I have not even received a response to my demand for a refund.

On top of this extremely traumatic ordeal which my family was put through by EMS, they have the worst customer service I have ever had the misfortune to experience in my life. I have never seen customer service representatives talk to customers in such a rude and uncaring manner, which is particularly shocking given that EMS is a company that presents itself as a medical repatriation provider.

Our experience — along with numerous negative Trustpilot reviews and a BBC investigation

— suggests this kind of dishonesty and delay is part of a disturbing pattern.

Really a 0 star review. I don’t know how the people who work for this company sleep at night. I hired this company to transport my mom from Mexico to the US believing they would help organize and communicate with the hospital in Mexico and find the hospital in the US. But it was my aunt and I that had to push the hospital in Mexico to provide information. And I had to figure out hospitals in the US for my mother. My mother ended up passing away. I called to cancel, my biggest mistake, I should’ve emailed, not that it would’ve mattered. Minutes after the phone call, I received a rushed booking confirmation with no location set for transport other than “Los Angeles”, no hospital confirmation, no bed confirmation (which they claimed was the last thing pending to get her transported). They did not work with the local hospital, did not define a hospital they were taking her to, and did not transport. I am not rich by any means. The money I paid them was my livelihood, but it was my mother. And now I’ve lost her and my savings. They have since stopped returning my emails, when I call they say there’s no phone for their compliance department, but that it takes 30 business days for them to process and investigate. The 30 days have come and gone and I have received no update. This is textbook scam. I will never forget the feeling of being pressured to click on the accept quote button from the manager. “I need you to scroll down and press the accept button”. I was asking questions and he would just repeat, “scroll down and press accept”. Looking back now, I cannot believe I went with this company. But my mother was dying. They know this. These are predators. Do yourself a favor and avoid this company. Reach out to the local embassy or consulate, they have a list of legitimate and cheaper air ambulances you can reach out to. If your country does not have an embassy or a consulate reach out to a neighboring country’s embassy. For example, if you’re from the US, you can reach out to the Canadian one. I unfortunately did this too late.

We had high expectations when engaging this company, as their initial communication was professional and reassuring. However, after making the required payments, we encountered significant challenges in getting the agreed-upon service delivered.

We were under the impression that an air evacuation would take place within 24 hours of receiving full payment. Based on this understanding, we transferred €93,800, followed by an additional €38,800, which was later requested. Despite these payments, the evacuation did not occur within the agreed timeframe. Upon further inquiry, we discovered inconsistencies between the information provided to us and what the hospital in Berlin, Germany confirmed. According to the contract, the client was expected to arrive in Berlin by January 7, 2025—24 hours after full payment. However, we were later informed that the evacuation was scheduled for January 9, 2025, raising concerns about adherence to the agreed-upon timeline. Due to the delay from EMS, we were forced to go with another company. Hence, the evacuation did not take place with EMS and subsequently the contract was not fulfilled.

Furthermore, there was confusion regarding logistical details, including the reported arrival of their team at the Freetown airport, which we could not verify. Additionally, the UK address listed as their headquarters was associated with a different company, which added to our concerns.

Despite repeated attempts to resolve these issues and request a refund, we have yet to receive a resolution after more than two months. This has placed an immense financial and emotional strain on us, particularly as we were dealing with a medical emergency. Sadly, our family member has since passed away, and we are left wondering whether timely intervention could have made a difference.

This experience has been deeply distressing, and we encourage anyone considering this service to conduct thorough research and seek clarifications on timelines and procedures before committing. Reliability and transparency are crucial in medical emergencies, and we hope that improvements are made to prevent similar situations in the future.

We do intend to pursue legal actions to get our refund, if this matter is not resolved.

If I could give 0 stars, I would. This company agreed to bring my mom back from the Netherlands to the US on 4/22/25 and then on 4/23/25, canceled over the phone, stating their doctors no longer approved of the transfer. They stated that they spoke with my mom’s doctors the morning of the 23rd, (we have signed letters saying they did not speak to them at that time). They have been unwilling to give any refund even though they canceled on us and provided zero services. When asked about rebooking a transport that met their criteria, they said our original payment of $11,800 would not be able to be applied toward the new estimate (over $30,000). In my experience, the company was unhelpful, unresponsive to our concerns, and unwilling to work toward a fair resolution. I personally feel they took advantage of a very vulnerable situation and left our family without options.

Our elderly aunt was on holiday abroad and had an accident and surgery. We went to bring her home but alas it was not that simple. We contacted EMS and within minutes were confident that they would be able to handle the repatriation from start to finish. We provided answers to their questions. Spoke with their medical professional and agreed the plan going forward . It truly was a bed to bed service and we were updated during the travel time so there were no surprises. An excellent service that we would thoroughly recommend to others in a similar predicament.

I am giving EMS 247 as I feel like that’s what represents mine and my family’s experience.

We requested their commercial airline stretcher with a paramedic as we felt like the patient wasn’t too sick for an air ambulance but also not able to travel normally on a commercial airline (even business class). Communication started early enough and EMS was good at explaining how that works as it was our first time doing it. If you’re using their services, be ready to pay the full amount upfront as nothing can go forward without that payment.

EMS told us that we would be able to leave in about three days but on our part, we weren’t able to get all the required documents until the second day. So they pushed their estimate another two days. This is where everything went south: we provided all the documents and EMS told us that the airline had rejected them, so we had to adjust and repeat. We went through that process 4 times and this added a whole week to the estimated time of departure. You can imagine how frustrating that can be when you have a sick patient waiting for care. We were forced to stay in the local hospital for all those days while hospital charges are also piling up.

Finally when we left, we were transported in a very poorly maintained ambulance from another local hospital with a very inexperienced driver. The guy didn’t even know how to operate a stretcher. We asked around and discovered that he in fact was just a receptionist. He didn’t even know where to enter from at the airport, which made the whole thing even more frustrating.

When we reached the airport, we were shocked to learn that the airline which EMS contracted didn’t even inform the airport that there would be a patient with a stretcher that would need tarmac access, despite it being clearly indicated on the MEDIF form that was provided three days prior.

When we reached the destination country, we encountered more issues with airport staff because they wouldn’t let the ambulance get inside the airport. Again, no heads up was given.

I can go on and on about what went wrong and it would take me days. All I can say is, EMS by itself is not a bad company to work with. They were very nice when we called them, their paramedic Camille was extremely nice and was actually the only person keeping us calm throughout the hectic journey (she honestly went above and beyond). However, I need to hold them responsible for their choice of third-party partners. They should’ve done more research on the quality of their services because they were very horrible. From the ground ambulance to the airline they chose, everything was worse than horrible!

EMS, please do a better job at vetting your partners. I can’t imagine how bad it could’ve been if our patient was in a critical condition needing immediate care. That process should not have taken more than a week.

Other than that, the actual people at EMS were very nice and that’s why I’m not giving them 1 star.

These guys are the best! The crew took the absolute best care of my parents and they were so kind and helpful. We are extremely grateful to them. Worth every penny! 10/10!

Fast en good service, flying home next day, Nice and experienced paramedics.

We reached out to EMS to help us repatriate a sick family member and were knocked out by the speed, professionalism and flexibility of the service and support provided. From the very first conversation, it was clear that everyone was totally committed to helping us as much as possible, during this very stressful period....and, as for the team sent out to make the lengthy journey home, they are worthy of the highest praise imaginable. From putting the patient at ease, doing everything to minimise his discomfort and liaising with the hospital in the UK so they were ready and waiting to swing into action, and all this with warmth, compassion and a smile. You are all very special and we thank you so much!!
If you are in need of this kind of specialist help, we cannot recommend EMS highly enough. Ten Stars!!!

The only service of this kind for our medical transfer from London to Athens. We are thankful to the ambulance crew. We are particularly grateful to our medical escort Joseph Hoar for his great personality and medical professionalism - in one word, exemplary.

Very fast responses and organised 2 separate trips 2 weeks apart for us at short notice, and with excellent crew. Constant updates during the transfer process (we could not be with the person being transferred one of the times) and everything was done exactly as planned and detailed, in very clean and well-equipped ambulances with great crew.

How do you get a sick and bedridden father from a hospital in the Czech Republic to the Netherlands as quickly as possible? Communication problems and sabotage attempts from people in his personal environment do not make this assignment any easier. We submit our request for help to EMS and receive extremely expert assistance from the first moment of contact. Our story is listened to carefully and our ideas are shared. We receive clear explanations. In fact, we are immediately relieved and reassured. EMS works accurately and very professionally. Sometimes we almost dare not believe what they promise us, that they will bring our father to the Netherlands on the agreed day no matter what. On the transport day itself, we receive regular updates from EMS about the progress of the journey. According to our father, the employees are very friendly and helpful from the moment of pick-up to the end of the trip. Without EMS we would not have managed to get father to the Netherlands (so quickly) and we are very grateful to them for their excellent services. Extra info; Payment is made in advance to a foreign bank account. This caused us some problems with the bank, including an extensive telephone interrogation. Be prepared for this and consult your bank.

We went thru them to try and get my mother back from Ireland to the US in 2020, we had to pay upfront and it took over 10 days for them to come up with an itinerary for departure, we gave up on them after 8 days and hired a different company to get my mother home. It only took the other company 3 days and only needed half up front. Go with almost any other company they delayed so long my mother almost died