Ambulance in Sousse

Sahloul and Farhat Hached university hospitals: naming the right site

The city's two large public hospitals sit in different neighbourhoods. Sahloul University Hospital (CHU Sahloul) is on the ring road (route de ceinture), in the Sahloul district; Farhat Hached University Hospital (CHU Farhat Hached) is on Avenue Ibn El Jazzar, close to the city centre. Mixing them up wastes time, especially for a family that does not know Sousse.

For a transfer from one to the other, or to a clinic in the city, give the department the patient is leaving, the receiving department and the name of the clinician who approved the discharge. The discharge summary, recent test results and the prescription travel with the patient. If an admission time has been set, mention it in your very first message.

Msaken, Kalâa Kebira, Enfidha: hospitals across the governorate

The Sousse governorate extends well beyond its capital. The regional hospital in Msaken, to the south, and the hospitals of Kalâa Kebira and Enfidha, further north, take in part of the region's patients. When the care team refers a patient on to Sahloul or Farhat Hached, it is that team that sets the timing of the transfer and the level of monitoring; EMS organises the journey on the basis of those instructions.

The return trip is prepared with the same care: for a journey from a university hospital back to a home in Msaken, Akouda or Kalâa Kebira, tell us the floor, the width of the staircase and whether a relative will be there on arrival. Let us know the discharge time given by the ward as well, so that the departure can be scheduled without a long wait for the patient.

The hotel zone, Hammam Sousse and Port El Kantaoui

North of the centre, the hotels line Boulevard du 14 Janvier towards Hammam Sousse, and the tourist road then leads on to the marina at Port El Kantaoui. Along this strip of several kilometres, properties with similar names follow one another, some of them spread over several blocks.

Before departure, send us:

• the exact name of the hotel and the room number;
• the entrance to use: main, service or car park;
• the name of a contact at reception;
• the travel insurance references, if the insurer is following the case.

At the height of the summer season, traffic builds up in the evening along the tourist zone: a morning departure often makes the pick-up simpler.

Sousse medina: where the ambulance has to stop

Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988, the medina of Sousse is a maze of winding lanes and narrow dead ends around the Ribat and the Great Mosque. An ambulance cannot drive in: the vehicle parks at the gate or in the nearest street open to traffic, and the patient is carried to it.

To prepare this stretch on foot, describe the route from the nearest medina gate, the number of steps and the width of the inside staircase. Old houses often have steep stairs that a stretcher struggles to get through; let us know so the crew can adapt how the patient is carried. These details determine how many crew members are needed and how much time is set aside for settling the patient in.

Monastir and Enfidha-Hammamet airports

Two airports serve Sousse. Monastir Habib Bourguiba International Airport lies some 15 kilometres to the south-east, about 20 minutes by road. Enfidha-Hammamet International Airport is some 45 kilometres to the north-west, about 40 minutes by road via the A1 motorway. For a holidaymaker, it is the ticket that decides, not proximity.

Airlines generally ask to be informed in advance when a passenger who is ill or has reduced mobility is travelling, and may require a medical form. Send us the flight number and the time you are due at the airport: we work out the departure time from the hotel or hospital from those details, leaving a margin for check-in.

Road times and access from Sousse

From central Sousse, outside traffic jams, allow:

• Monastir airport: about 20 minutes by road;
• central Monastir: about 30 minutes by road;
• Enfidha-Hammamet airport: about 40 minutes by road;
• Kairouan, via the RN12: about 1 h by road;
• Mahdia: about 1 h by road;
• Sfax: about 1 h 30 to 1 h 45 by road;
• Tunis: about 1 h 45 by road.

The A1 motorway, which bypasses the built-up area to the west, carries the routes to Enfidha, Tunis and Sfax. The slower RN1 national road runs through Hammam Sousse to the north, then Messaadine and Msaken to the south. With a patient lying down, the driving stays gentle and stops are added on long journeys: these times remain indicative.

Arranging a transport from or to Sousse

Call EMS or message us on WhatsApp with:

• the pick-up address: hotel, a ward at Sahloul, Farhat Hached or a clinic, or part of the medina;
• the destination and the arrival time you need;
• the patient's condition: seated, on a stretcher, on oxygen;
• the name of a contact who can be reached on site.

A dedicated coordinator calls you back less than 10 minutes after your request, 24/7, to check feasibility and the right type of medical transport. A quote is sent to you before anything is confirmed. In a life-threatening emergency, call the SAMU (190) first: EMS is a private service and does not replace the public emergency services.