Daughter in Turkish Hospital can anyone advise re insurance please?

Lady_K

Daughter collapsed and became paralized down the whole of her right side and also had difficulty swallowing while on holiday in Turkey. She is in a private hospital in Turkey and a friend has stayed with her day and night which is good because there are no english speaking doctors and nurses at all.
She has gradually regained feeling thoughout the day and because of this she feels ok and wants to leave the hospital but they kept her in to monitor her plus they have done some tests which the Doctor wants to discuss with her before she is discharged, but it seems she may be able to leave in the morning. Luckily the hotel Doctor is speaking to the hospital doctor and translating this to my daughter by phone.

She has single trip premier plus cover with Direct Travel Insurance. She spoke to the insurance who have logged her claim and said they would call her tomorrow to see what the situation was. She did not inform us untill 3 hours ago because she did not want to worry us but her partner has rang the insurance too just to ask if everything that has needed to be done has been done. They looked up her ref number and said they were under the impression that she had been discharged but she hasnt.

The lady she spoke to on the phone from Direct travel insurance said if they pre paid the hospital bill it would delay her discharge due to faxing things over so my daughter said she would rather pay it herself and claim it back but we have since found out that if the bill is over £500 they can pay it. When her partner called to check things he was told my daughter had opted out of them paying for her giving the impression she cannot go back on this.

What is the best thing to do, should she pay herself and claim afterwards or tell them she wants them to pay it now and will this really cause such a delay in her discharge?
The hotel told her when she is discharged they will drive her back to her hotel with her friend and she can pay on the hand machine when she gets there as she has left her card in the hotel, is this ok? She will need the medical notes for the claim and I'm concerned about the reciept. As she will most likely be discharged early in the morning she will need to know this as soon as possible if anyone can please advise?

Is there anything else we should be aware of?

Ponkle22

Oh dear - all sounds very stressful!

Best place I can advise you go for advice is either the Trip Advisor forums (post in the relevant area) as there are Destination Experts there (often they live in the area)

Also the Turkish Living Forum.

Hope this helps.

Good luck.

AHAR

I'd get hold of the policy document and read all of the relevant sections to find out what the correct procedures are.

Lady_K

Thanks,

Myself and her partner have been looking through the policy documents already but there is a lot, 64 pages long and I can't get my head around it all. But I don't know if paying at the hotel room is a safe way to do it. Her partner found that bit in the documents about them paying if the hospital stay was over 24 hours and more than £500 but what it doesnt say is if the Direct travel helpline is right in saying that she chose to opt out of paying herself for now and cant change that, her partner did point out that she was obviously not fully aware of things and was lead to believe it would prolong her stay in hospital. I also wondered if it might be more difficult claiming the money back afterwards if she paid it herself

I could try the trip advisor forums but as most of this is policy related I just wondered if anyone else had a similar experience with the same insurer here

mum2one

I can't help , but recognised your user name,(disability boards) so just wanted to say hope your daughter goes on ok xx

lil.smartie

I'd let insurance pay, we have had to use travel insurance twice and that's how it's worked both times. I had to pay & claim for out patient appointments but not the hospitals. The insurance co's kept in touch & when my husband had a stroke we were even met by a UK Dr to fly home with us and he would even have accompanied us home had we needed him to. I don't think using insurance will hold anything up as long as your GP responds to any requests from them promptly.

Kate

Lady_K

Thanks, yes the more I'm thinking about it the more I think its best she lets them pay up front, she would have said so straight away but its just the fact they said it would prolong things. Will she still get a medical report of her own from the hospital too and a reciept to prove its been paid if this happens or do they just fax them through to the travel insurance only?

Doc_N

I'm so sorry to read this, and I'd certainly agree that the insurers should settle the bill. If there's any suggestion that that will delay things (which I doubt, because they'll want to limit their liability) some telephone intervention at this end should put them right. I doubt they'd want the bad publicity that might follow. That's subject, of course, to the hospital being willing to discharge your daughter, and that will depend on the doctor. If he advises a further stay, the insurers will want that advice followed to protect themselves. Ultimately, though, it's your daughter's decision as to whether to discharge herself - though she would do well to listen to the doctor's advice.

As to medical reports etc, I'm sure the insurers would release them - if they don't, your daughter can use the Data Protection Act to get them if they relate to her.

I'm sure she will, but your daughter does need, as soon as she returns home, to see her GP to explain what happened and have any further tests done.

satchmo1

Firstly, I hope your daughter is soon back to full health. Secondly, thank God she had travel insurance!

It could be worth contacting the British Embassy (Ankara) for assistance. "If asked, we can help you to liaise with your insurance company or medical evacuation company. Remember to keep any receipts or doctors’ notes in case you need them to make a claim. We may also be able to help you communicate with hospital staff if they do not speak English."

Ambassador: Mr. David Reddaway
Address:
British Embassy
Şehit Ersan Caddesi 46/A
Çankaya

Phone:0312 455 3344

Website:http://ukinturkey.fco.gov.uk/en
Office hours:GMT Mon-Fri: 0645-1530

Local Mon-Fri 0845-1700
Open to public Mon - Fri: 0900 - 1230 / 1415 - 1545

HXDave

The travel insurance policy should have an 'International Medical Assistance' company listed, and it is really these you should be dealing with, as it will be them that will authorise any payments. Take whatever advise they stipulate - it's what they are there for. after all, your daughter may need special facilities for travelling home etc. As far as delaying things, then i cannot see whay that would be a problem - always go by the medical advise given.

I hope your daughter makes a full recovery, and gets back home soon.

HXDave

Lady_K

They have found something that she needs to see her gp about when she gets home but she is ok to leave now. They are taking a long time sorting out things with the insurers though, they said they had already sent the papers to them this morning but when I rang the insurers to give them her new room number because her mobile phone had ran out of charge they said nothing had been sent so the insurers had to contact the hospital to get things moving. She is filling in a form at the moment with gp's details etc. I cant help wondering if they might be deliberately prolonging her time there, I don't know if the insurance are going to pay the hospital or not but her partner phoned them to say she had changed her mind and wanted them to pay the bill upfront now and they suggested he tell her to show them her ehie card as it might cover it, she has done but I'm guessing that is not going to cover this