‘Last push’ to get injured English tourist stuck in Thailand hospital back home

[webfact]

Photo via GoFundMe

 

by leah

The 25 year old English tourist who crashed his motorbike into a shopfront in Phuket on May 1 remains in hospital in Thailand over three weeks later. Doctors say he is almost ready to be transferred to a hospital in the UK, once his hospital bill is paid in full.

 

After suffering significant blood loss and falling into cardiac arrest, Liam Kilby entered a coma and was taken to Vachira Phuket Hospital. Doctors diagnosed him with post-cardiac arrest syndrome and rhabdomyolysis – or kidney failure.

 

Liam’s sister Molly updated the Wirral Globe on her brother’s condition…

“He is doing his last few days of dialysis at the moment and he is very scarred and has a lot of nerve damage, can’t feel the side of his face very well and we don’t know if we will ever recover.

“We’re still trying to raise funds for flights home and for the final bill payments. He won’t be allowed to leave until the bill is completed… We have paid £12,500, but they are still very demanding for the rest.”

 

Full story: https://thethaiger.com/hot-news/tourism/last-push-to-get-injured-english-tourist-stuck-in-thailand-hospital-back-home

 

-- © Copyright Thaiger 2023-05-24

 

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[JustAnotherHun]

Quote

He won’t be allowed to leave until the bill is completed… We have paid £12,500, but they are still very demanding for the rest.”

What? The Thai hospital is very demanding to be payed because there is no free health care in Thailand for tourists without a sufficient travel insurance?

How dare those Thais!

Gofundme!

[proton]

12.500 quid goes nowhere these days. Saw a social media post of a UK girl on Samui with food poisoning. Three days basic care in hospital was 7k pounds not baht, luckily she has insurance.

[hkblademan]

Hate to think how big the outstanding bill is…

[AAArdvark]

So what next?  He dies and they then get? 

[jcmj]

If they have only paid 12,500 so far it seems they still have a long way to go. Good luck raising funds. 

[KhunLA]

Wow, imagine that, wanting to get paid for services rendered, before you leave the country.

 

Like it was the hospital's fault he ended up in the hospital with no money to pay.

 

Didn't read and 'thank you s' for saving his life and keeping him alive.

Edited May 24, 2023 by KhunLA

[OneMoreFarang]

7 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

Wow, imagine that, wanting to get paid for services rendered, before you leave the country.

 

Like it was the hospital's fault he ended up in the hospital with no money to pay.

 

Didn't read and 'thank you s' for saving his life and keeping him alive.

It seems many people like to go on an exotic holiday. And then they want that everything is just like back at home...

[bbbbooboo]

hmmmm...the key words in all of this are " once his hospital bill is paid in full ".

[IamNoone88]

Seems very hard to follow 2 simple self-imposed rules ......... 1. Get adequate insurance. 2. Don't do anything that risks breaking the insurance clause payouts ..... like riding a motor bike without a proper license and/or not wearing safety equipment .... both as required by the law .... I wish him a well in his recovery.

[Mike Teavee]

30 minutes ago, hkblademan said:

Hate to think how big the outstanding bill is…

The article says they’re trying to raise the final £4,000 but they’ve already raised £16,705 which minus the £12,500 paid would leave £5,205 so I can only assume the final bill is £20,705 (< 1Million THB), seems very reasonable (cheap) given his injuries 

[kwaussie]

Yes there are never enough stories and warnings to get quality insurance, wear a helmet, don't drink and ride, and always ride as if everybody is out to get you.

[TheFishman1]

No comment TIT

[bignok]

Just now, TheFishman1 said:

No comment TIT

No comment is a comment. What is tit?

[KhunLA]

3 minutes ago, bignok said:

No comment is a comment. What is tit?

Slang (or not) for female mammary gland ....

... TIT = This is Thailand

 

Think you knew that though, one or both definitions.

Edited May 24, 2023 by KhunLA

[hotchilli]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

“We’re still trying to raise funds for flights home and for the final bill payments. He won’t be allowed to leave until the bill is completed… We have paid £12,500, but they are still very demanding for the rest.”

Best of luck.. 

[sqwakvfr]

I wonder if the hospital will be pressured to let him go?  I would attempt to negotiate a payment plan for the remainder of the bill.  This is the time when an Embassy can get involved and work with the hospital and the family to ensure payments are made in the future.  But just like the US Embassy I doubt the British Embassy wants any part of this.  It would really look bad if his condition worsens while he is being “cared” for while waiting for the remainder of the bill to be paid.  This is the “catch 22’  of this predicament: while he is in the hospital the bill keeps climbing.  So as each day passes the current balance due gets higher and higher until he is discharged.  

[Muzzique]

If you take the risk, you foot the bill. If the hospital let him go home before this, the bill will never be paid.

 

So pay up. The hospital staff didn't turn him away. Go remortgage your home, sell your car, max out your credit cards and take out loans.

 

Next time think about the risk and mitigate with insurance that covers all possibilities. If something where being intoxicated or not wearing a helmet invalidates the insurance, don't drink and put on a hard hat.

 

Always travel fully insured and save your stupidity till you get home.

[richard_smith237]

There’s nothing wrong with the hospital wanting payment. But, IF the hospital operates dual-charing (double pricing) and is charing this boy more because he is a foreigner then I see something very wrong while the family struggle to make ends meet to cover the cost of treatment. 

 

The hospital has done a wonderful job of keeping him alive. 

 

I hope Thailand resolves its ‘insurance’ issues for tourists... there are very clear and obvious solutions but Thailand doesn’t seem to want to take firm steps towards those resolutions. 

 

I’ve repeated the following on this forum before: 

The Tourist Medical Burden on Thailand in cost terms is 0.04% of the income from tourism. 

It wouldn’t take a lot for Thailand to ‘write off’ these emergency cases.

 

Thailand is proposing a 1000 Baht departure tax - it wouldn’t take a lot for the funds from this to go towards ’tourists insurance’ to cover emergency medical treatment (note - emergency medical treatment, not elective treatment). 

 

Thailand ‘could’ do more to place itself in a more welcoming position, present better optics and further work towards improving tourism rather than the repeated articles where we witness the underlying attitudes that Thailand considers tourists a burden rather than the financial benefit they bring to the country. 

 

 

[The Fugitive]

Good that there is an update. Also good result in that the bulk of his hospital bill has been paid. But what will happen if the 4,000 GBP balance is not forthcoming? Unfortunately, his condition does not sound good. Hospital say they will not discharge him without payment in full.  

[Andrew65]

1 hour ago, proton said:

12.500 quid goes nowhere these days. Saw a social media post of a UK girl on Samui with food poisoning. Three days basic care in hospital was 7k pounds not baht, luckily she has insurance.

Many years ago an old friend had a colectomy (bag and subsequent removal of bag) at Bumrungrad, I believe the bill was £30k-£40k.

[JustAnotherHun]

7 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

I hope Thailand resolves its ‘insurance’ issues for tourists... there are very clear and obvious solutions but Thailand doesn’t seem to want to take firm steps towards those resolutions. 

I don't think it's Thailand to change it's attitude.

The situation is very clear:

If you're going to a foreign country you should have a travel insurance that pays the costs in case of an emergency or accident.

If you can afford to hollidy in Thailand you should be able to pay the very decent price for a travel insurance too.

If not, stay home or gofundme if things go wrong.

[The Fugitive]

7 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

There’s nothing wrong with the hospital wanting payment. But, IF the hospital operates dual-charing (double pricing) and is charing this boy more because he is a foreigner then I see something very wrong while the family struggle to make ends meet to cover the cost of treatment. 

 

The hospital has done a wonderful job of keeping him alive. 

 

I hope Thailand resolves its ‘insurance’ issues for tourists... there are very clear and obvious solutions but Thailand doesn’t seem to want to take firm steps towards those resolutions. 

 

I’ve repeated the following on this forum before: 

The Tourist Medical Burden on Thailand in cost terms is 0.04% of the income from tourism. 

It wouldn’t take a lot for Thailand to ‘write off’ these emergency cases.

 

Thailand is proposing a 1000 Baht departure tax - it wouldn’t take a lot for the funds from this to go towards ’tourists insurance’ to cover emergency medical treatment (note - emergency medical treatment, not elective treatment). 

 

Thailand ‘could’ do more to place itself in a more welcoming position, present better optics and further work towards improving tourism rather than the repeated articles where we witness the underlying attitudes that Thailand considers tourists a burden rather than the financial benefit they bring to the country. 

As we agreed recently, very valid financial and also humane solution for Thai Government (Tourist Industry) to pick up the bill for treatment of accidental injuries to everyone. It just needs agreeing and implementing. Of course, the alternative viewpoint is that travel/motor insurance should pay or the young man shouldn't have exposed himself to such risk. However, he did, this situation occurs repeatedly and will never ever end. 

[JonnyF]

1 hour ago, proton said:

12.500 quid goes nowhere these days. Saw a social media post of a UK girl on Samui with food poisoning. Three days basic care in hospital was 7k pounds not baht, luckily she has insurance.

Really? I did 3 days at a good private Bangkok hospital following a motorcycle crash in 2020 right before Covid hit. I had 6 broken bones, required MRI scans, xrays, loads of pain meds, slings, dressings etc. and the total was 55,000 Baht or 1300 quid. The bike repair cost double that.

 

7k for 3 days basic care? Either she got ripped off or she was exaggerating for 'likes' IMO.

 

  

[JustAnotherHun]

6 minutes ago, The Fugitive said:

As we agreed recently, very valid financial and also humane solution for Thai Government (Tourist Industry) to pick up the bill for treatment of accidental injuries to everyone.

Another option would be to make a trvel insurance mandatory for everyone who wants to visit the country.

But then I could her the shouting until Germany, I guess :-).

By the way: If a Thai wants to go to Europe (EU) he has to show a health insurance.

[Chongalulu]

Is there ot a negotiation to be had with the hospital,I e along the lines of we have £12500 ready now on the condition you release him and we pay the rest in installments over next year, otherwise we pay nothing and he remains there costing you money which we might never be able to afford to repay?

[damo1967]

1 hour ago, KhunLA said:

Wow, imagine that, wanting to get paid for services rendered, before you leave the country.

 

Like it was the hospital's fault he ended up in the hospital with no money to pay.

 

Didn't read and 'thank you s' for saving his life and keeping him alive.

I was thinking similiar.. would this jerkoffff even say thank you to the silly GoFundMe people who paid for him, when it appears he had no insurance?  Leave him in the Thai hospital.. and stop all medication until the bill is paid~!

[Goat]

24 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

Thailand ‘could’ do more to place itself in a more welcoming position, present better optics

Thailand has enough of its own problems. Millions of Thais are getting sub standard health care.

 

I have already chipped in $500 for this kid.

How about you put your hand in your pocket to help him out.

Or do you just want to complain about the Thais?

[KhunLA]

7 minutes ago, JonnyF said:

Really? I did 3 days at a good private Bangkok hospital following a motorcycle crash in 2020 right before Covid hit. I had 6 broken bones, required MRI scans, xrays, loads of pain meds, slings, dressings etc. and the total was 55,000 Baht or 1300 quid. The bike repair cost double that.

 

7k for 3 days basic care? Either she got ripped off or she was exaggerating for 'likes' IMO.  

Depends what hospital used .... 3 days 1M baht later, and can't even get a diagnosis ????

https://aseannow.com/topic/1291623-thai-hospitals-more-tests-more-money-what-is-it-all-about/

 

[Chongalulu]

2 minutes ago, JustAnotherHun said:

Another option would be to make a trvel insurance mandatory for everyone who wants to visit the country.

But then I could her the shouting until Germany, I guess :-).

By the way: If a Thai wants to go to Europe (EU) he has to show a health insurance.

Problem with this and many similar cases is that their actions ( nohelmet orlicence or drunk) will invalidate any travel insurance