Ambulance in Msaken

Pinpointing the pick-up point within the delegation

The delegation of Msaken reaches well beyond the town itself: it takes in Messaadine, Borjine, Knaies and Beni Kalthoum, among other localities, and had more than 97,000 inhabitants at the 2014 census. An address in the town centre and an isolated house among the olive groves that surround Msaken are not reached in the same way.

Give the sector, the street and a well-known landmark nearby: a mosque, a school, a pharmacy. If the last stretch is along a farm track, say so when you first make the request and describe what state it is in after rain. In winter, during the olive harvest, there are also more tractors on the minor roads around the town, which is worth bearing in mind for an early departure.

Msaken Regional Hospital and transfers

Msaken Regional Hospital (Hôpital régional de Msaken) serves the people of the town and the neighbouring localities of the delegation. When a patient needs a specialist department, the medical team may refer them on to a university hospital in Sousse or Monastir.

Before a time is set, EMS needs the discharging department, the receiving department and a contact who can be reached on each side. The receiving facility must have confirmed that it will accept the patient: its agreement is what sets the schedule. Depending on the patient’s clinical condition and the care team’s instructions, the journey is made by ambulance or as medicalised transport, and the medical documents are handed directly to the receiving department. If the patient is waiting in the emergency department rather than on a ward, say so: the crew’s meeting point is not the same.

To the university hospitals of Sousse and Monastir

From Msaken, the two university hospitals in Sousse are not reached in the same way. Sahloul University Hospital stands on the Route de la Ceinture, in the Sahloul district on the edge of the city; Farhat Hached University Hospital is right in the centre, on Avenue Ibn El Jazzar, where traffic thickens at rush hour. Always give the name of the hospital, the department and, if the appointment letter states it, the building: mixing up the two means crossing the city a second time.

In Monastir, Fattouma Bourguiba University Hospital receives many patients from across the Sahel for consultations, tests and admissions. Monastir is also where EMS is based, which makes it easier to arrange a same-day return trip once the discharge time is known.

Monastir and Enfidha-Hammamet airports

Monastir Habib Bourguiba International Airport is the closest to Msaken: some twenty kilometres away, roughly a 25-minute drive outside busy periods. Enfidha-Hammamet International Airport is about 55 km to the north, roughly a 45-minute drive on the A1. If the flight leaves from Tunis-Carthage, allow for about 160 km, roughly a two-hour drive.

The transport is planned around the airport printed on the ticket and around the airline’s requirements: the check-in time, any assistance booked on the ground, and any medical clearance the airline asks for before accepting the passenger. In summer, the tourist season brings heavy traffic onto the roads serving both Sahel airports, particularly around the Skanes hotel strip next to Monastir airport, so build in a wider margin.

Usual road times from Msaken

The times below are indicative, do not include settling the patient in, and vary with traffic:

• Sousse city centre: about 12 km on the RN1, which runs through Messaadine, roughly a quarter of an hour by road;
• Monastir: about 25 km, roughly half an hour by road;
• Sfax: about 120 km on the A1, about 1 h 30 by road;
• Tunis: about 155 km on the A1, about 1 h 45 to 2 h by road.

The A1 serves Msaken through a toll interchange, exit 17. Heading south, the RN1 runs through Borjine, Kerker and El Jem: it remains an alternative, but passes through more built-up areas. On the way to Sfax, the Borjine service area, just south of Msaken, allows a break if the patient’s condition calls for one.

Returning to Msaken after a hospital stay

After a stay in Sousse or Monastir, the return to Msaken is short in kilometres, but it is prepared like a real journey. Ask the ward for the likely discharge time, collect the discharge report and the prescriptions, and check that any prescribed equipment will be in place at home: a hospital bed, a wheelchair, oxygen where needed.

Tell us the floor, and whether there is no lift, a narrow staircase or a street where the vehicle cannot stop outside the door. A relative should be there when the patient arrives. When several follow-up appointments are already booked at Sahloul, Farhat Hached or Fattouma Bourguiba, the journeys can be scheduled together rather than one at a time.

Arranging your transport from or to Msaken

Call EMS or message us on WhatsApp with the pick-up address, the sector within the delegation, the exact destination, the preferred date and time, and the patient’s mobility: seated, in a wheelchair or on a stretcher. A dedicated coordinator will call you back in less than 10 minutes to go over the needs and send you a quote before anything is confirmed.

The service answers 24/7, whether for a hospital discharge, a transfer to a university hospital or an airport connection. EMS is a private service and does not replace the public emergency services: in a life-threatening situation, call the SAMU on 190 first.