Stretcher transport
In a stretcher transport, the patient is carried on a patient stretcher in a vehicle specially equipped for the purpose.
Learn more: Stretcher transportPatient transport paramedic
Glossary · Quality and staff · also: Transportsanitäter/in, patient transport paramedic with federal diploma, TS
In brief
The key points at a glance
Patient transport paramedics (Transportsanitäter/innen) are rescue service professionals with a Swiss federal diploma. They care for patients during medical and patient transport, support rescue teams and take responsibility for ensuring that transport is carried out safely.
Also called: Transportsanitäter/in · patient transport paramedic with federal diploma · TS · paramedic in medical transport
Everyday duties
In patient transport, the work does not begin at the vehicle but with the patient: patient transport paramedics assess whether the person is fit to be transported, choose the right positioning, take over patients on the ward and hand them over at the destination with the necessary information. During the journey they monitor breathing, consciousness and well-being, and react if anything changes.
There are also tasks relating to the vehicle: checking oxygen, the defibrillator and emergency equipment, hygiene after every journey and documenting the journey. In stretcher transport and transfers, the combination of expertise and calm is crucial.
Training and qualification
The profession is completed with a federal professional examination; the title is “Transportsanitäter/in mit eidgenössischem Fachausweis” (patient transport paramedic with federal diploma). Training combines theory with practical placements and covers, among other things, anatomy and pathology, first aid and basic life support, positioning and transport techniques, communication and legal principles.
They are to be distinguished from emergency paramedics (Rettungssanitäter/innen), who have a higher vocational college qualification and work in emergency response, and from transport assistants, who have shorter basic training.
What they mean for patients and relatives
For patients, what matters is that someone is there who knows what they are doing — especially on a journey after an operation, with breathing difficulties or in moments of uncertainty. Relatives can rely on the escort not just driving, but caring.
Mobimed is continuously looking for patient transport paramedics and transport assistants (40 to 100 per cent) for its base in Binningen. You will find the vacancies under “Open positions”.
For hospitals and care homes, patient transport paramedics are important contacts at handover: they receive information on medication, oxygen requirements, mobility and special needs, and pass it on in full at the destination. This careful handover is an essential part of patient safety, especially for transfers between two facilities.
A profession with prospects
Demand for patient transport paramedics is growing. The population is ageing, hospitals are discharging patients home earlier and more and more treatment takes place on an outpatient basis — which means more journeys to dialysis, therapy and check-ups. At the same time, qualified staff are in short supply, which makes the profession attractive to career changers.
Anyone who enjoys working with people, stays calm when things get hectic and is physically resilient has good prerequisites. Many patient transport paramedics come from nursing, healthcare or skilled trades. A valid driving licence of the appropriate category and good German skills are generally required, as communication with patients, relatives and nursing staff is a central part of the job.
Typical workplaces are private patient transport companies, emergency medical services, hospitals with their own transport service and organisations that carry out repatriation from abroad.
In practice
Transfer from Bruderholz to Liestal
After pneumonia, an elderly patient is transferred from Bruderholzspital to Spital Liestal. The patient transport paramedic takes her over on the ward, is briefed on her oxygen requirements and medication, and positions her on the stretcher with her upper body raised. On the way she monitors her breathing, and at the destination she hands over the patient and her documents to the nursing staff.
Related services
All services What we can drive for you
Hospital transfers
On a hospital transfer, we take patients from one institution to the next: from a hospital to another clinic, from an acute hospital to a care home or from a clinic back to hospital.
Learn more: Hospital transfers
Medical repatriation & journeys abroad
With our medical repatriation service, we organise ground-based return transport home or to a clinic for further treatment – within Switzerland and internationally.
Learn more: Medical repatriation & journeys abroadAnswers
Frequently asked questions: Patient transport paramedic
What is the difference between a patient transport paramedic and an emergency paramedic?
Emergency paramedics have a higher vocational college qualification and work mainly in emergency response. Patient transport paramedics hold a federal diploma and care for patients during medical and patient transport, as well as supporting rescue teams.
Is Mobimed looking for patient transport paramedics?
Yes, Mobimed is looking for patient transport paramedics and transport assistants (40 to 100 per cent) for its base in Binningen. You can apply online.
Glossary
All terms Related terms
Quality and staffTransport assistantTransport assistants accompany medically stable patients during transport: they help them get in and out, secure the wheelchair and patient in the vehicle, drive and look after them on the way.Quality and staffIVR recognitionThe Swiss Interassociation for Rescue Services (IVR, in French IAS) is the umbrella organisation of the Swiss rescue services.Types of transportEmergency medical serviceThe emergency medical service cares for people in medical emergencies and takes them to hospital under medical supervision.EquipmentPatient stretcher (wheeled stretcher)A patient stretcher, also called a wheeled stretcher, is a mobile bed on which patients are transported lying down.EquipmentDefibrillator (AED)A defibrillator is a device that delivers a targeted electric shock in certain life-threatening heart rhythm disorders, above all ventricular fibrillation, so that the heart can return to an orderly rhythm.
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The first IVR-recognised patient transport service in north-western Switzerland
Recognition by the Swiss Interassociation for Rescue Services (IVR/IAS) is not a self-assessment but the result of an external audit of vehicles, equipment, training and procedures. Mobimed was the first patient transport provider in north-western Switzerland to receive it — and still holds it today.
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