Online appeal launched to fly home elderly British man taken seriously ill in Korat

[jimn]

7 hours ago, canopus1969 said:

Sorry I do not understand, he can get very good treatment here

Are you really that naive. Of course he can but he has no insurance and cant afford to pay for his care, why do you not understand?

[GroveHillWanderer]

6 hours ago, Denim said:

 

I think the 80,000 baht figure is misleading. This would be for a private jet with nursing staff all the way !!

 

I agree the above suggestion is only theoretical but surely the figure ( the very round figure ) represents flying home with the best of everything not just getting the poor man home. As soon as the flight landed in the UK he would be met by airline staff and taken through immigration ( done this hundreds of times for wheelchair bound passengers ) so a cheaper option must surely be possible.

 

When I worked for BA I often had to take such passengers right to the taxi rank and help them into a taxi !!

 

Where there is a will there is a way.

According to the article in Gloucestershire Live, £80,000 was simply what the FO told them was the upper limit of what it might cost. However the family have determined that £20,000 will be sufficient for the type/level of medevac he requires.

[thaibeachlovers]

19 minutes ago, Scouse123 said:

Where the hell would it end? There is way too much of expecting the state to assume responsibility for a persons poor life choices.

Run a nanny state for long enough and people will expect government to provide for their every need.

 

Wait till the people currently obese hit their 70s and it's going to be a medical disaster- heart problems, diabetes, loss of sight, kidney breakdown etc. It's already bad and it hasn't even begun to affect as many as it will. Obesity is simply avoided but people have abandoned their personal responsibility and expect the government to save them from the entirely avoidable consequences.

[thaibeachlovers]

7 minutes ago, youreavinalaff said:

The ones in the article. Here. Can you see it?

 

"Speaking to Gloucestershire Live, daughter Vanessa said: "Dad did have insurance initially but it lapsed and when he tried to get it re-issued they wouldn’t insure him because of his age and his medical conditions (co-morbidities)”".

That would have been the time to return to the NHS, not after it all went wrong.

[khunpa]

Ok, so the guy can not pay for his treatment. I guess the hospital will also not release him.

 

So what’s going to actually happen? The guy lives at the hospital forever, they finally release and deport him? They throw him to jail? I mean what is actually worst case in a situation like this?

 

Anyone know?

[shackleton]

Here we go again with someone whose insurance has finished cant extend for what ever reason 

Suddenly his only option is a Gofundme to pay for his hospital or get him back to the UK

Now we  have the usual debates on why he did have the proper insurance or what ever

His problem is getting  funding to pay His bills get him home which his 2 daughters are trying to get 

There will be more like him here in Thailand no doubt will be reading more in the not to distant future on this never ending Subject 

 

[Burma Bill]

6 hours ago, Ron jeremy said:

insurance should be mandatory!

 

Thank you for your comment, but with due respect, what type of insurance do you suggest - health/medical, accident or travel?

 

If you are referring to health, then in my case this is not possible being a Type 2 insulin dependent diabetic. Over many years (27) I was recommended on many occasions to take up health insurance but I was always refused (in Thailand and the UK) when I mentioned diabetes. No problems for personal accident insurance which I had for several years through Bangkok Bank before relocating to Cambodia. Fortunately I receive 3 pensions from which I fund all the medication and medical tests I require, previously Government Hospitals in Thailand and now private pharmacies and clinics in Cambodia. My pensions also provide "part" self insurance from savings. I cannot get accident or Covid-19 insurance in Cambodia as I am too old (77 years).  

[peter48]

3 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Run a nanny state for long enough and people will expect government to provide for their every need.

 

Wait till the people currently obese hit their 70s and it's going to be a medical disaster- heart problems, diabetes, loss of sight, kidney breakdown etc. It's already bad and it hasn't even begun to affect as many as it will. Obesity is simply avoided but people have abandoned their personal responsibility and expect the government to save them from the entirely avoidable consequences.

Oh come on the mark of a civilised state is its healthcare and most EU states like Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Holland, Germany, Belgium, Austria etc are up there. UK less sure its yet to be determined why it reached at several points the highest Covid deaths  per capita on the planet. The NHS is underfunded, understaffed ( worse since Brexit) & less acute beds than Germany. its about taxation, pay more like the Danes you get more. UK has chosen lower taxes & that of course is what most developing societies do. Of course the NHS is good but its got many limitations compared to Scandi or Germany etc.,  

[Millcx]

7 hours ago, The Fugitive said:

Difference between treatment and care. As the gentleman can't swallow he must be being fed through a tube. Communication is another problem. Realistically, is there a chance of improvement if he did receive free therapy in UK? It must be possible to arrange personal care within Thailand that's affordable for the gent?

Depends how long he has been in Thailand … If he has been too long he loses the right to have treatment on NHS

[youreavinalaff]

1 minute ago, Millcx said:

Depends how long he has been in Thailand … If he has been too long he loses the right to have treatment on NHS

As has been mentioned before, NO he does not.

[Goldpanner]

4 hours ago, puchooay said:

No questions are asked. I returned to UK after 21 years away.

 

I simply went online and registered with the practice nearest to my new address. I received the forms in the post, completed them and returned them. 

Did you actually notify them you had been away for 21 Years??

[prakhonchai nick]

8 hours ago, canopus1969 said:

Sorry I do not understand, he can get very good treatment here

Yes, but he must pay - no insurance and clearly no money.  Maybe in the UK the NHS will pay!

[thaibeachlovers]

1 minute ago, peter48 said:

Oh come on the mark of a civilised state is its healthcare and most EU states like Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Holland, Germany, Belgium, Austria etc are up there. UK less sure its yet to be determined why it reached at several points the highest Covid deaths  per capita on the planet. The NHS is underfunded, understaffed ( worse since Brexit) & less acute beds than Germany. its about taxation, pay more like the Danes you get more. UK has chosen lower taxes & that of course is what most developing societies do. Of course the NHS is good but its got many limitations compared to Scandi or Germany etc.,  

Oh come on! I worked in the NHS for 10 years and it's a disaster because they have too many managers and won't pay enough for the nurses that actually do the work to stay. Bullying managers was a major problem where I worked. It's a scandal that Britain has to import foreign nurses, and entirely due IMO to changing from hospital training to university qualification. Nursing is NOT a profession, despite what managers like people to think. It's a trade.

It's not a question of money- Brown put 6 BILLION quid into the NHS in the early century and the managers wasted most of it. Sack 90% of the managers and hire competent nurses and half the problems would be solved IMO.

Don't waste more tax money on the NHS - reform it top to bottom and stop doing things it shouldn't be doing.

 

Oh come on the mark of a civilised state is its healthcare

NZ must be doing poorly then. It costs too much to see a GP ( ZERO discount for pensioners ) and only a GP can start the process unless one turns up in an ambulance. Long waiting lists etc. I need an urgent test and I have to wait about 4 weeks ( if I'm lucky ) to get it. IMO I'm far more likely to die at home than get referred for preventative treatment in time if I needed it.

In Thailand if I needed to see a consultant I just turned up at the hospital and waited to get seen, and the cost was minimal. Meds over the counter too, so no need for an expensive GP appointment. IMO Thailand has a better health system, unless needing admission to hospital.

[Neeranam]

2 hours ago, Excel said:

Neeranam, I have a lot of time for you but that question is absurd. This guy is what 30 years + older then his kids whom are probably married and have their own children. You serious expect a man in perhaps his late fifties early sixties, who maybe has already lost his wife to move to another country in his old age for retirement and expect his children and grandchildren  to follow him ?

Fair enough. Each to their own. Personally, I want to have my kids grandkids in my life. I have known guys that live here with a new family. 

[thaibeachlovers]

8 minutes ago, Millcx said:

Depends how long he has been in Thailand … If he has been too long he loses the right to have treatment on NHS

No. Far as I know if he returns to the UK and lives there long enough as a permanent resident he gets NHS again. It's to stop medical tourism for free which was a major problem when I worked in the NHS. We were not allowed to ask if the patient was entitled to NHS treatment. Loads of operations for people not entitled to them.

[Neeranam]

2 hours ago, BritManToo said:

My children in the UK hate me, and in return I despise them.

I've created more, and nicer, children in Thailand.

Like many of us have done.

You remind me of a friend of mine who died recently. Not one of his family from the Uk were at his funeral. 

He basically cut them all off because of a 24-year old prostitute from Buriram. So sad, IMHO. 

[Neeranam]

1 minute ago, thaibeachlovers said:

No. Far as I know if he returns to the UK and lives there long enough as a permanent resident he gets NHS again. It's to stop medical tourism for free which was a major problem when I worked in the NHS. We were not allowed to ask if the patient was entitled to NHS treatment. Loads of operations for people not entitled to them.

Used to be 26 weeks. 

[thaibeachlovers]

23 minutes ago, peter48 said:

its about taxation, pay more like the Danes you get more.

I believe the Danes used their share of North Sea oil for the benefit of the citizens. They didn't waste it like the Brits did.

[thaibeachlovers]

29 minutes ago, shackleton said:

Here we go again with someone whose insurance has finished cant extend for what ever reason 

Suddenly his only option is a Gofundme to pay for his hospital or get him back to the UK

Now we  have the usual debates on why he did have the proper insurance or what ever

His problem is getting  funding to pay His bills get him home which his 2 daughters are trying to get 

There will be more like him here in Thailand no doubt will be reading more in the not to distant future on this never ending Subject 

 

Surely the point is that he should have returned to the UK if he couldn't provide for his own health requirements. Every old person is likely to have a stroke or a heart attack, so completely foreseeable.

Waiting till it all goes wrong is IMO irresponsible.

I did the responsible thing and returned to home country, even though it was not what I wanted for my old age.

[puchooay]

13 minutes ago, Goldpanner said:

Did you actually notify them you had been away for 21 Years??

Yes. On the registration form there were questions regarding history of addresses.

 

One question was "How long have you continually lived in UK?"

 

4 minutes ago, Neeranam said:

Used to be 26 weeks. 

I was able to register with the NHS and receive an NHS number straight away. As was my daughter, a UK national, who had not previously live in UK up to the age of 18.

[3NUMBAS]

sounds like locked in syndrome .get him on asprins and statins and blood thinners asap

[mvdf]

2 hours ago, Neeranam said:

Have to ask why an old man in the final years of his life would leave his children in the UK

 

Oh there are some who do that, pretending (or warding of that unrebuttable reality) that they're still 40 or younger. Must be something in that black pudding or baked beans that drives them to turn a blind eye to that equally unrebuttable date of birth. 

[ignis]

2 hours ago, Salerno said:

 

 

the problem with all these websites ..... Yes you can go overland Train or Bus, but you need to do a lots of changes train to bus and back to a train again + you need a Visa for all these Countries, it is Not 1 train or for that matter 1 ticket, but many for each leg of the trip.... 

 

me at 70 could no longer do it...  so someone in poor health ?

 

remember years ago had to get off a train in the middle of the night [Not at a station] to catch another train, thankfully others were doing the same., in Eastern Europe 

[NightSky]

8 hours ago, KarenBravo said:

.......and that's the result of "self-insuring".

The insurance companies are a big scam not covering certain ages and health conditions. 
 

even if they do take the money and issue cover the extra small print in the terms and conditions is a mine field.  

[3NUMBAS]

on the wrong side of 70 one must expect the worst in ones health ,anything can go seriously wrong ,lucky he didnt have a brain hemorage like the man u manager

[hotchilli]

9 hours ago, smedly said:

take him home by boat if they won't let him on a plane

Very sad comment to make... 

[hotchilli]

9 hours ago, webfact said:

"Dad did have insurance initially but it lapsed and when he tried to get it re-issued they wouldn’t insure him because of his age and his medical conditions (co-morbidities)”.

A loop-hole that Thai insurers need to fill. 

It's when you get old that most people need to get insurance for health care, but Thai companies seem reluctant to cover.

I guess no profit to be made.

[joecoolfrog]

He chose to stay in Thailand without insurance , he thought he was better off there , he gambled and he lost !

I like a bet but at his age , and with serious underlying medical problems , the odds really were not in his favour.

I've backed Mr Lupton in 5.0 at Royal Ascot today , if it loses I wont be asking anybody for a whipround.

[Goldpanner]

3 hours ago, Neeranam said:

Have to ask why an old man in the final years of his life would leave his children in the UK

The thought of 20 year old thai women??

[BritManToo]

27 minutes ago, Neeranam said:

You remind me of a friend of mine who died recently. Not one of his family from the Uk were at his funeral. 

He basically cut them all off because of a 24-year old prostitute from Buriram. So sad, IMHO. 

My Brit wife basically cut me off because of a 50 year old gardener from Bodmin.