Medical transport in the charter sense is group transport for people whose destination is a hospital, clinic or health program, or whose needs mean the vehicle has to be chosen carefully: aged-care residents on an outing, a disability support service running community access, a group of patients travelling from a regional town to a Brisbane specialist appointment, a rehabilitation program with a weekly pool session. It is not an ambulance or a patient-transfer service, and we say so plainly; it is a bus with a low step or a lift, a driver who is patient, and a schedule that respects appointment times.
Hospital and clinic appointment shuttles
Brisbane's major hospitals each have a set-down that a bus can use and a car park it cannot. The Royal Brisbane and Women's at Herston and the Princess Alexandra at Woolloongabba have marked drop-off zones near the main entrances; the Mater at South Brisbane sets down on Stanley Street; the private hospitals — Greenslopes, the Wesley at Auchenflower, St Andrew's in Spring Hill, Sunnybank Private — are tighter and we confirm the set-down before the first run. A typical group appointment shuttle collects residents or patients from one or two points, delivers them for a block of appointments, waits or repositions, and returns. Regional groups travelling in for specialist appointments — from the Lockyer Valley, the Scenic Rim, the Somerset region or further — are quoted as a day charter with the vehicle held at the hospital.
Aged-care and retirement community outings
Outings for aged-care facilities and retirement villages are the largest part of this work: a monthly trip to the Redcliffe foreshore, a lunch at a club, a morning at the Botanic Gardens or the Museum, a Christmas lights drive. The vehicle needs a low step or a wheelchair lift, room for walkers and a driver who does not hurry anyone. We keep a small number of accessible vehicles for this work and they book ahead, so a regular monthly outing is best booked as a block. Facilities that run a fixed calendar of outings are quoted per quarter.
Disability support and NDIS community access
Support providers booking community access, day programs and group activities can book vehicles with wheelchair lifts and securement points, and we can carry a support worker's equipment. We invoice in the format NDIS plan managers require where the transport is funded under a participant's plan, and we work with the provider on the pick-up sequence so participants are not on the vehicle longer than necessary. The guide to accessible charter transport explains the boarding process and what to specify.
What we are, and what we are not
We provide accredited drivers and suitable vehicles for group medical-related travel. We do not provide clinical care, we are not a patient transport service in the ambulance sense, and passengers who need medical supervision in transit need to bring it with them. For everything short of that — the outing, the appointment block, the program shuttle — a charter is usually the cheapest and least stressful option, and the quote itemises the driver hours, the waiting time and the accessible-vehicle loading so a facility or provider can see what it is paying for.
Medical Transport in Brisbane: questions
Do you have wheelchair-accessible vehicles in Brisbane?
Yes, a limited number with lifts and securement points. They book ahead, so tell us the number of wheelchair passengers and walkers when you enquire and book regular outings as a block.
Can the driver help passengers on and off?
The driver operates the lift and steadies passengers at the step. The driver does not provide personal care or lifting assistance; a support worker or carer travels with passengers who need that.
Can you invoice under an NDIS plan?
Yes. We invoice plan managers in the format they require, with the transport itemised per trip.
Is this a patient transport or ambulance service?
No. It is group charter transport with accessible vehicles for people whose destination is medical or whose needs require the right vehicle. Passengers who need clinical supervision in transit need to bring it.
