title: Transferring patients with Ebola by land and air: the British military experience.
abstract: The Ebola epidemic of 2014/2015 led to a multinational response to control the disease outbreak. Assurance for British aid workers included provision of a robust treatment pathway including repatriation back to the UK. This pathway involved the use of both land and air assets to ensure that patients were transferred quickly, and safely, to a high-level isolation unit in the UK. Following a road move in Sierra Leone, an air transportable isolator (ATI) was used to transport patients for the flight and onward transfer to the Royal Free Hospital. There are several unique factors related to managing a patient with Ebola virus disease during prolonged evacuation, including the provision of care inside an ATI. These points are considered here along with an outline of the evacuation pathway.
authors.affiliation: Royal Centre for Defence Medicine, Birmingham, UK Department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine, Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.
authors.forename: Ian
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ewington
authors.affiliation: Centre of Aviation Medicine, RAF Henlow, Bedfordshire, UK.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Nicol
authors.affiliation: Royal Centre for Defence Medicine, Birmingham, UK Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, St Thomas' Hospital, London, UK.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Adam
authors.affiliation: Royal Centre for Defence Medicine, Birmingham, UK St George's University of London, Cranmer Terrace, London, UK.
authors.forename: A T
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Cox
authors.affiliation: Royal Centre for Defence Medicine, Birmingham, UK.
authors.forename: A D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Green
mesh_terms: D017732:Air Ambulances; D019142:Hemorrhagic Fever, Ebola / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D007391:International Cooperation; D008887:Military Medicine; D008889:Military Personnel; D062209:Patient Handoff; D010357:Patient Isolators; D010360:Patient Transfer / Q000379:methods*; D012807:Sierra Leone; D014187:Transportation of Patients / Q000379:methods*; D006113:United Kingdom
keywords: AVIATION MEDICINE; INFECTIOUS DISEASES