MCI guides

Handing patients to other services at an MCI

At a big incident, patients often leave in ambulances from other services. The incident commander still needs to know where each patient went and that they arrived. This is where tracking usually breaks down.

This guide is general information for trained responders. Follow your own service's protocols and local rules, which may differ.

What usually goes wrong

• The other crew does not use your system, so the record stops at "loaded".
• The ambulance is diverted to another hospital and no one is told.
• The hospital receives patients it was not warned about.

What a good handover needs

• A tag number on the patient that matches your record.
• The destination hospital, agreed before the vehicle leaves.
• The vehicle and service name.
• A simple way for the other crew to say "arrived" and "handed over", without training or a login.

How it works in Incident Commander

When a patient goes with another service, the transport officer opens the patient and shows a QR code, or sends a link by WhatsApp. The other crew opens it on their own phone. They see the patient's tag, category and hospital, with directions and the hospital's number. They tap "Arrived at hospital", then "Patient handed over". If they are diverted, they choose the new hospital. Each tap shows in the incident straight away.

The link only works for that one patient and stops working after 12 hours, or when you stop it.

Keep it simple

The crew from the other service may never have seen your system. Two big buttons work. A form does not.