How To Choose The Best Medical Courier Service In the UK?

Updated on 12.09.25

With the word ‘medical’ used in the title of this article, immediately you should be aware that this is a sector of the courier service industry that usually requires highly skilled couriers who have a wealth of experience behind them. The delivery of medical equipment is not the same as simply delivering a package as much of the time, other legacy equipment has to be removed, and the new equipment installed and left in fully operational condition.  

What does a medical courier do? 

The most important point to clarify about medical courier services is that they do not include the transportation of blood, organs or other living tissue. There is very specific licenses for such work and these licenses are not held by medical couriers in the UK. More specifically. Medical courier companies focus their services on the delivery of medical equipment, the ‘hardware’ necessary for patient care.  

Examples of items that fall under the remit of a medical delivery courier can include dental equipment, gas bottles, respiratory equipment, specialist beds, sterilising equipment and small-to-medium size pieces of equipment that weigh up to around a maximum 100kg.  

Beyond this, medical courier delivery does not simply involve the dropping off of a piece of equipment at a specific location and then leaving. A truly professional medical courier service will remove the previous equipment for recycling, install and make sure the new equipment is operational (where appropriate), remove all packaging and leave the premises looking as though they had never been there.  

Distribusha also works closely with pharmaceutical companies and research laboratories, so as a medical courier deliver company we also with the transport of chemicals and pharmaceuticals. 

What is the process of using a medical courier service? 

When it comes to using the services of a medical courier company, there are three principal factors that will guide you in the right direction. First, what is it that you need collecting or delivering. Is it large or small? Would the courier need more than one person to collect and/or deliver the item(s)? The answers to that will then help you make it clear to the medical courier whether you needed a van with a tail lift, and how many people would be needed. You then have to decide if the equipment needs to be fitted on delivery, and what needs to be done with the old equipment, if applicable. Finally, you simply need to ascertain whether you need a regular service, or if this would be a one-off contract.   

What role do medical courier companies play in emergency healthcare support?  

In reality, Distribusha does not get involved in ‘emergency services’ where healthcare is concerned. However, it is important to underline that Distribusha still plays a critical role in patient welfare and patient rehabilitation.  

Often patients can find they are due to be discharged from hospital without much advance warning or at best a day. However, often patients are discharged not because they have fully recovered from an accident or operation, but because home recovery is seen as preferable both by patients, and also hospitals. For the hospital, this reduces patient care costs, and frees up a valuable bed. As a consequence, here at Distribusha our same day medical courier service can come to the rescue and deliver medical equipment such as a hospital-style bed, wheelchair, respiratory equipment, gas bottles or mobility aids. 

What is the importance of a reliable medical delivery courier in the UK?  

There is a simple overarching answer to this question, and that is patient wellbeing is at stake. However, reliable medical courier services are critical because in the UK it can take many, many months to get an appointment to see a specialist, and if a vital piece of medical equipment is out of action, then that can see further distressing delays for patients. Beyond the practical considerations, reliable medical courier services help to bolster the reputation of dentists, specialists and medical practices by ensuring that they are fully operational for the maximum time possible.  

What are the benefits of working with experienced healthcare logistics companies?  

“There is no substitute for experience” is a quote first attributed to Marilyn Rice. It is particularly true where Distribusha is concerned. You wee Distribusha is not your normal, everyday courier company. No. We are very different because we specialise in specific courier services, including medical courier services, exhibition courier services, technical courier services and we consider ourselves to be a highly experienced healthcare logistics company. 

Which factors should you consider when choosing a medical courier service?  

There are several factors to be taken into consideration when choosing a medical courier in the UK, some will be more relevant than others depending on the nature of the equipment or medical supplies being transported. Let’s have a look at some of the following factors to be taken into considerations:  

• As previously mentioned, if you have medical waste, blood, organs or human tissue that needs transporting, you have to find a medical courier service with the appropriate licenses. At Distribusha we are a highly respected and reputable medical courier, and we operate accordingly. Consequently, if you have any of the above you require transporting, we will respectfully decline the request as we have no wish to damage our hard-earned reputation through unprofessional operating methods.  

 

• If you are likely to require the receipt of or delivery of certain items within a 12-hour deadline, you need to make sure your medical courier service is available to you 24-hours a day and not just during standard office hours. Speed of delivery is often the most important factor when choosing a courier, as is an impeccable safety record.  

 

• If your items are heavy, up to around 100kg in individual weight, you need to check of your chosen medical courier services have both the vehicles capable of transporting heavy loads, and the manpower to load and unload the equipment. 

 

If, for example, you are a supplier or manufacturer of medical equipment, you may want that equipment delivered and also installed, so that it is fully operational when your chosen medical courier leaves the premises. You will need to check that the medical courier staff have the training and experience in order to install that equipment.  

If you are going to need a medical courier on a regular basis, you want to check with your chosen courier if they offer discounts for regular or ‘contract’ deliveries or collections, and remember that reliability will be a crucial factor.   

If you supply medical goods across the UK, you need to check medical courier companies to see if they have a national distribution network and the ability to deliver your products anywhere in the UK in a timely manner.  

How to find a good medical courier company? 

It is impossible to put too much emphasis on how important it is to work with the right medical courier company. After all, whoever is in need of medical equipment or supplies, if they are not a medical professional, are going to struggle if their delivery is delayed. Consequently, you need to choose reliable medical courier services. Beyond that, you need to know if the team who will be doing the delivery, if it is an expensive piece of equipment, if they know how to install it and have it up and running before they leave the place of delivery. Does the courier doing medical deliveries have the right van, one with a hydraulic tail lift if the item being delivered is bulky, heavy or both. Finally, you want to check whether your medical courier has insurance, not just for public liability, but for goods in transit. After all, accidents can happen, and often that is why a medical courier service is needed!   

What makes Distribusha one of the best medical courier services in the UK?  

It takes time to become an established and reliable medical courier company. It takes time to establish a network that can cover the whole of the UK. It takes time to train staff and for them to obtain the requisite amount of experience in order to deliver and install highly valuable, essential and sensitive medical equipment. It takes time to build up trust with companies whose business depends on timely deliveries and total reliability.  

But above all else, what separates Distribusha from other medical courier services in the UK is that the company is still owned and run by its founder, and has not sold out to larger, impersonal nationwide medical courier companies. That means that in the rare event you have a problem or a critical delivery, there is every chance you will get to deal with ‘the man at to he to’, and if he says he can help you, he will do anything and everything withing his power to make sure everything will be okay.  

What future trends are shaping healthcare logistics solutions in the UK?  

The UK’s healthcare system is under increasing pressure. With junior doctors successfully negotiating a pay rise, that places even greater strain on a financially crippled system, Healthcare logistics are in the firing line of cost cutting, and here at Distribusha, we sense that there will be more contracted-out medical delivery services and Distribusha anticipates this sector of our professional services will become busier and busier. 

Got any question? Call us: 01923 828460 – it costs nothing to talk – or   

Email us: info@distribusha.co.uk and we’ll get straight back to you.  

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