The phone rings at 2 a.m. Someone at home can’t breathe properly, or a relative in hospital needs to be moved to a bigger one in another city. You call for an ambulance. And then the first question comes back at you: which kind?
Most people don’t know there’s more than one. Fair enough. You only learn this stuff when you need it, usually at the worst possible moment. So here’s a plain guide to the types we run at Doctor Ambulance, and how to pick between them without wasting time.
If you’re not sure, say so on the call. Tell us what’s happening with the patient (awake or not, breathing okay or not, on oxygen at the hospital or not) and our team will match the vehicle. You don’t need to know the medical name for anything. Describing what you see is enough.
This is for a patient who is stable. Think of someone being discharged and going home, an elderly parent going for a scheduled scan, or a person who simply can’t sit in a car after surgery.
They need to lie down, they need a stretcher, and they need someone trained sitting next to them. That’s it. No ventilator, no heavy monitoring. Booking the bigger vehicle “just in case” doesn’t really help here, and it ties up an ICU unit someone else might need that night.
A step up. The patient is mostly stable but needs oxygen support on the way. Common with older patients who have breathing trouble, people recovering from chest infections, or anyone already on oxygen in the ward.
Here’s the thing families sometimes miss. If the patient is on oxygen in the hospital bed, they will need it in the vehicle too. Even a short ride is a long time without it. Our oxygen ambulances carry cylinders and a trained attendant who keeps an eye on the patient the whole way.
For heart patients. Chest pain, a known heart condition, someone being moved for a heart procedure or coming back after one. The big difference is the cardiac monitor on board, so the crew can watch the heart rhythm during the trip instead of guessing.
This is the one for critical cases. A patient on a ventilator, someone unconscious, or a person whose doctor has said they must not travel without life support.
Our ventilator ambulance carries a mechanical ventilator, cardiac monitor, suction machine, oxygen and advanced life support equipment, with paramedics on board. Basically the patient keeps the support they had in the ICU while they’re on the road.
Moving a ventilated patient between hospitals takes some planning, especially from one city to another. Call early if you can. The treating doctor should agree the patient is fit to travel, and it helps a lot if the receiving hospital knows you’re on the way.
A few details save real minutes:
Nope, you don’t need all of it before you dial. Call first, and share the rest while the vehicle is on its way.
A lot of our calls are intercity. Rawalpindi to Lahore, Islamabad to Karachi, or a smaller town like Chakwal or Jand to a big hospital in the twin cities. Same rule applies, just more so. The longer the trip, the more it matters that the vehicle matches the patient. A stable patient can go in a basic transfer ambulance. A critical one needs ICU support for every kilometre of the road.
We run 24/7 in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, Multan, Sargodha and Murree. Everything we offer is listed on our services page.
In a real emergency (someone has collapsed, isn’t breathing, or is bleeding heavily) don’t sit and work out which ambulance type it is. Just call. Picking the right vehicle is our job, not yours.
Doctor Ambulance: 0336 291 4741 or 0345 570 4719. You can also message us on WhatsApp, any time of day.
One call connects you to the nearest available vehicle. We dispatch immediately.