I had a chance to ride with these guys recently and they are one of the most competent and most professional ambulance service available today.

We ran a 3 man crew with a transport officer (the driver), a registered nurse, and me as the MD.

The ambulance is well stocked with equipment and meds unlike some other ambulances which don't even have an oxygen tank or BP apparatus. The unit is also well marked with bright body markings and dual roofmount lightbars. I would later learn that the markings are derived from European ambulances and are designed to make the ambulance more visible from any direction unlike the drab white paint jobs of other ambulances.

The driver is also very good and [let this be a warning] he will not allow the ambulance to be followed by non-emergency vehicles when the ambulance is running in an emergency. When we counterflowed on a national highway (salubungan), a passenger jeepney and a host of other vehicles decided to tailgate us. The driver informed me that this is a potentially dangerous situation since we are running on the wrong side of the road and may have to brake hard anytime for oncoming traffic. Suddenly there was a 10 wheeler truck coming up on the horizon. The Aeromed driver knew that the truck would yield to the ambulance but instead, we pulled back into the correct lane leaving the jeepney and other tailgaters to contend with the [very mad] truck. The Aeromed driver than opened the window and shouted to the jeepney: "Sige, mauna kayo! Akala niyo madali itong ginagawa ko!" Obviously, the tailgaters did not dare overtake the Aeromed unit.

In another scenario, a Toyota Camry decided to tailgate the ambulance on the SLEX. What the driver did was slice from one side of the road to the other knowing that other motorists would yield to the ambulance but not to the Camry. The Camry never caught up. Inipit na ng ibang motorists.

I guess if you're ever in need of an ambulance just call 9111121 tapos i-request niyo na lang na ako ang on-board MD. hehehe. Btw, they will also do rescues if needed. They have equipment for different rescue scenarios.

And as of April 1, 2007 Aeromed is now the official ambulance service of the NLEX (SLEX coming soon?). Baka makita niyo ko sa Lakbay Alalay.