Travel /medical insurance and repatriation fault

sheramber

Yiu say he was to go to Hungary as his native language country but he was sent home to UK the day after arriving, so what was the point in going to Hungary?

Pumukli28

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82133207#Comment_82133207

The native language speech therapy . English is his second language.

Pumukli28

Where did you read that he was sent home to the UK the next day? That’s not what happened.

​It’s true that he was turned away from the first facility because it was just an outpatient clinic with no ICU department. They did graciously allow him to spend the night in one of the rooms on the top floor, and I was able to take him away the next morning.

​From that point on, we were left entirely on our own and had to urgently find a private hospital ourselves. It was immensely stressful, especially since we had no idea how he had handled the journey and he was in a really poor condition. We had to find a private hospital that could provide proper care, and only after that could the right rehabilitation actually begin.

There’s a reason there are no handover documents showing he was passed on to ICU or anyone at the final destination of the repatriation—because that simply never happened. They might as well left us at the airport; it would have made no difference whatsoever.

luci

I've been hospitalised in Tenerife twice with pneumonia. The first time, I was allowed to go home after 2 weeks, but with a medical escort flown out from the UK.

The second time, with a different insurer, the hospital would only discharge me with a medical escort. However, the insurer wouldn't arrange it and waited a few days until I could go home without one.

sheramber

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82133217#Comment_82133217

The original recommendation was for that but he was only there overnight so no therapy of any kind given.

Pumukli28

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82133250#Comment_82133250

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82133369#Comment_82133369

Sorry but I don't get your comment.

XRS200

Your query was whether anyone has experienced similar but I think the details are too specific for this.

If you feel you have been treated unfairly or incorrectly there will be a complaints process in the policy wording.

luci

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82133513#Comment_82133513

If you mean me, I was simply giving an example of how different insurer's medical departments can handle the same thing in different ways.

Pumukli28

I did not get sheramber comment. But I answer to you :

The issue is that people are paying higher amount for unlimited premium insurance specifically for ultimate peace of mind and maximum protection. If we start accepting excuses and loopholes from the insurer, it completely defeats the purpose. Premium insurance should guarantee security to its client, not look for ways out—especially in a lifethreatening situation.

Pneumonia, of course, can be just as life-threatening as a stroke. However, unlike stroke cases, it is not a time-sensitive illness in the same way, nor is it affected by altitude—making the two very difficult to compare. Furthermore, pneumonia does not have a strict time window for rehabilitation. Taking these fundamental factors into account should be the absolute bare minimum when acting in the patient's best interest.

In our case, it was a stroke so severe that the doctor explicitly told us 8 out of 10 people don't survive it. The fact that a total disaster didn't happen was pure luck, certainly not thanks to the insurer.

​When dealing with a life-threatening condition, an insurer should never make decisions that go against the patient's best interest. If that isn't a fundamental rule, then something is deeply wrong with the system.

Also In our case, the insurance company didn't just make a single mistake, which would have been more than enough on its own. They made a long series of critical errors that directly compromised the patient's health and reduced the chances of a full recovery.

luci

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82133730#Comment_82133730

You appear to have completely missed the point I was trying to make, but I'll leave it there.