SIA’s Tele-Medical Link Assures Customers Of In-Flight Health Care

Singapore Airlines (SIA) and International SOS today signed an agreement to introduce a new service to assure customers of medical attention in the air if they need it.

The Tele-Medical Service will be progressively phased in later this year, and will eventually be available on all SIA flights.

It will be a 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week advisory service, and will allow cabin crew to consult qualified multi-lingual medical staff on the ground if a passenger becomes ill onboard.

SIA is teaming with emergency medical assistance provider International SOS to offer the new service. Based in Singapore, SOS will have medical practitioners ready to provide immediate advice when needed. To contact an SOS doctor, SIA cabin crew can use Krisfone, SIA's inflight telephone, which allows calls to anywhere on the ground from anywhere in the sky.

"This will be the closest thing to having a doctor on board all of our flights," said SIA's Senior Vice President Marketing Services, Mr Yap Kim Wah.

"The Tele-Medial Service will give our passengers comfort and assurance that professional advice is always at hand in case of emergencies. It's part of our continuing efforts to provide the best possible service to our customers."

President and CEO of International SOS, Mr Arnaud Vaissie, said, "We are proud to be associated with SIA. Like them, we are a home-grown company that has evolved into a world-class organisation through constantly working at improving customer service and developing innovative products that anticipate clients' needs.

"Providing tele-medical support, a new service from International SOS, is an example of our customer-focused business philosophy," he said.

SIA cabin crew already receive compulsory training in safety procedures and first aid, with proficiency maintained through annual refresher courses. Senior cabin crew are also trained and certified to use defibrillators, which have been installed on all SIA aircraft since last year.

To facilitate effective liaison with International SOS, crew will be further trained in the use of basic diagnostic equipment to check the pulse, blood pressure and temperature of passengers who are unwell.

Renowned for its expertise in remote medicine, International SOS will also provide training support to SIA on the Tele-Medical Service protocols, to prepare crew for events where medical support from the ground is needed. SOS doctors will advise the crew on what action should be taken to ensure the passenger is kept comfortable until the aircraft lands and a medical team can take over.

International SOS - the world's largest medical assistance company and leading provider of remote site medical services - was founded in Singapore in 1985. The company offers a reliable 24-hour medical assistance and advisory service that also provides back-up to shipping companies, mining ventures, and offshore oil and gas exploration.

It offers more than 2,500 professional staff operating from international clinics and remote site medical facilities across five continents.