Ambulance in Sfax

Sfax's two university hospitals and the rest of the governorate

A large share of the transfers arranged in Sfax start or finish at Habib Bourguiba University Hospital or Hédi Chaker University Hospital. Both teaching hospitals take in patients from across the governorate and from neighbouring regions. Further out, patients from Jebeniana, some thirty kilometres to the north, from Bir Ali Ben Khalifa, about sixty kilometres to the west, or under the care of the regional hospital in Mahrès, to the south, come into the city for tests or a specialist opinion, then head home again.

For a transfer, give us the exact facility, the discharging ward and the receiving ward, the discharge time confirmed by the care team and a contact who can be reached at each end. Knowing in advance which entrance is closest to the ward saves the crew from searching around the grounds.

Finding your way around the city: radial roads and kilometre markers

Sfax is laid out like a star: thirteen radial roads run out from the centre towards Sakiet Eddaïer, Sakiet Ezzit, Chihia, Gremda, El Aïn or Thyna, and many addresses are written as 'route de … km …'. The km 4 ring road links these routes to one another.

For a home along one of these roads, tell us the radial road, the kilometre point, the side street and a visible landmark such as a pharmacy, a mosque or a petrol station. Two houses that are close as the crow flies can belong to two different radial roads.

At rush hour, traffic builds up on these routes, around the commercial port and near the industrial zones, so the departure time is set with this in mind.

The medina, its ramparts and the city centre

The medina of Sfax is still enclosed by its ramparts. Its two historic gates are Bab Diwan, to the south on the sea side, and Bab Jebli, to the north; around a dozen more were opened in the twentieth century. An ambulance cannot drive into the narrow lanes inside the walls: the crew parks as close as possible to a gate and reaches the patient on foot, with a transfer chair or a stretcher depending on their condition.

Tell us which gate the home is nearest to, which floor the patient is on and whether the staircase is narrow or winding: these details decide the equipment and the number of crew members needed. During the day, the shopping streets along the walls are very busy, so agree a meeting point with a relative.

Usual road times from Sfax

Long journeys are planned backwards from the required arrival time. As a rough guide, excluding stops and depending on traffic:

• Sousse: about 130 km, roughly 1 h 30 to 1 h 45 by road on the A1;
• Monastir: about 130 to 150 km depending on the route, roughly 1 h 45 to 2 h by road;
• Mahdia: about 105 km, roughly 1 h 30 to 1 h 45 by road;
• Tunis: about 270 km, roughly 3 h to 3 h 30 by road;
• Gabès: about 140 to 160 km depending on the route, around 2 h by road.

These times are for the vehicle alone. For a patient lying down, add time for settling them in, stops and the handover to the receiving ward. Coming from the north, the A1 motorway reaches Sfax at the Sfax-Nord interchange, after the El Jem and El Hencha exits; south of the city, it continues towards Mahrès and Gabès.

Airports: Sfax-Thyna, Monastir and Enfidha

Sfax-Thyna International Airport lies about 6 km south-west of the city, roughly a quarter of an hour's drive from the centre depending on traffic. It remains the most practical choice when the flight leaves from or lands in Sfax.

Otherwise, Monastir Habib Bourguiba International Airport is about 145 km away, roughly 1 h 45 to 2 h by road, and Enfidha-Hammamet International Airport about 170 km, around 2 h by road on the A1. Send us the flight number, the scheduled time and the airline's instructions for assisting passengers with reduced mobility: the pick-up time is then set with enough margin for check-in and the assistance formalities at the terminal.

Kerkennah: working around the ferry

The Kerkennah archipelago is part of the Sfax governorate and is reached by the SONOTRAK ferry, which runs between the port of Sfax and Sidi Youssef, at the western tip of the islands. For an island patient coming to Sfax for a consultation or going home after a hospital stay, the crossing sets the pace: sailings at fixed times, waiting to board, and possible cancellations in bad weather.

The transport is therefore planned around a specific sailing, with a fallback option if that sailing is cancelled. Tell us the destination village, whether Remla or another locality, and the time of the appointment in Sfax: we will tell you which sailing to aim for.

Arranging a transport from or to Sfax

Call EMS or message us on WhatsApp with both addresses, the date, the arrival time you need, the patient's position (sitting, in a wheelchair or lying down) and their needs, such as oxygen or monitoring during the journey. A dedicated coordinator calls you back in under 10 minutes to check these details, and you then receive a quote before anything is confirmed.

The line is staffed day and night, so an early-morning discharge from one of the university hospitals can be prepared the evening before. EMS is a private, planned transport service: in a life-threatening emergency, call the SAMU (190) first.