Nine ambulances before lunch

On Wednesday 16 September 2026 between 09:00 and 13:00, the operations desk of HealthWatch Assistance (HWA) in Thessaloniki arranged nine ground ambulance transfers across Greece. Nine patients, nine sets of medical records, nine receiving teams – and four hours on the clock.

In September, the Greek islands and mainland resorts are still busy

It was not an unusual morning. In September, the Greek islands and mainland resorts are still busy, and almost every hospital admission of a travelling patient ends with a transport question: to a better-equipped hospital, to an airport, or home.

What makes a morning like that possible

The first ingredient is people. Our operations team works around the clock, with a duty physician on call at all times, so each request is medically reviewed before a vehicle is booked.

The second is the network. Since 2000, HWA has built direct agreements with ambulance operators, hospitals and clinics, and today works with more than 7,800 contracted and validated providers. When nine requests arrive at once, we are not searching for a vehicle – we are choosing the right one: the right crew, the right equipment and the right location to reach the patient without delay.

Since 2000, HWA has built direct agreements with ambulance operators,
hospitals and clinics, and today works with more than 7,800 contracted and validated providers

 The third is information. Clients need to know where their patient is, who is with them and when they will arrive. Keeping insurers and operators informed as the case moves is part of the service, not an extra.

Built for air ambulance operators

For air ambulance companies, the ground leg is where a mission is won or lost. HWA acts as the local correspondent: bedside assessment, hospital liaison and discharge paperwork, and the ambulance that brings the patient to the aircraft on time – or meets it on arrival.

For travel insurers and IPMI providers, the questions are always the same: is this transfer medically necessary, and is the price fair?

When an escort is needed, HWA’s own escort doctors and ICU and emergency nurses, all in active hospital practice, travel bed to bed with no thirdparty handover.

Built for insurers and IPMI carriers

For travel insurers and IPMI providers, the questions are always the same: is this transfer medically necessary, and is the price fair? Our medical desk reviews the indication before the ambulance moves, and our costcontainment team checks the invoice against agreed network rates. HWA is approved by Lloyd’s as a Delegated Claims Administrator, so the case can run from the first call to the final claim with one partner.

Across the region

The same model runs beyond Greece – in Cyprus, Bulgaria, Albania, Türkiye and the wider Balkans, and into the Middle East – with one multilingual desk and one point of contact for the client.

Nine ambulances in a morning is a number. What matters to our clients is that each of those nine patients arrived safely, on time and with the paperwork in order.