Medical Repatriation To Uk From Bkk

[twentythreemc]

Friend of mine stuck in Bangkok hospital not in a good way, had a stroke 2 weeks ago would like to try an advise his wife of best way to get him home.

He has no medical or travel insurance so cheapest option required. Any body have any experience of this type of thing or no any good agencies

All advice greatly appreciated.

Regards

23

Sorry if this is wrong forum

[BalthazarBeefheart]

Friend of mine stuck in Bangkok hospital not in a good way, had a stroke 2 weeks ago would like to try an advise his wife of best way to get him home.

He has no medical or travel insurance so cheapest option required. Any body have any experience of this type of thing or no any good agencies

All advice greatly appreciated.

Regards

23

Sorry if this is wrong forum

I think maybe the British Embassy would be able to assist with this matter - worth an enquiry.

Good Luck BB

[Sheryl]

Cheapest option is on a commercial flight but depending on his condition it may cost quite a bit more than normal fare and you might have to rent special equipment and hire an attendnat.

First of all, need to find out from his doctors:

1. Is he medically stable enolugh to travel to the UK on a commercial flight?

2. If so, under what conditions, i.e.:

- would a medical attendant (doctor or nurse) be required or can he go accompanied only by his wife?

--would he need oxygen?

--any other requirements inflight, for example, suction machine, IV, urinary catheter?

--can he sit up for the however many hours the flight would entail?

3. If you can find out all that and get back to me I can advise further. Also please indicate whether or not he is conscious, whether he breathes on his own or is on a rrespirator, whether he has a tracheostomy (hole and tube in ghis throat for breathing) and whether his wife has UK citizenship or residency.

Also -- what hospital is he in?

You can either post reply here or PM me as you prefer.

There are companies who arrange this sort of thing but they charge a fortune for it. Even doing it on their own is not going to be cheap if he requires specialized equipment and a medical attendant in flight. But it will be vastly cheaper than the various companies charge.

[FBN]

The current medical condition will determine if you will be able to manage that without professional medical assistance.

Is he paralysed? To use a seat, passengers must be able to sit upright for take off and landing.

Airlines will require a medical clearance if a wheelchair assistance is requested. Turning up at the check in counter with a person that is clearly disabled may result in a refusal to board.

Medical issues in flight are also important; these patients are highly sensitive to drops in atmospheric oxygen pressure. He may become anoxic at altitude (especially about 6h-8h from London; the aircraft will go to a higher altitude as fuel load decreases and cabin pressure may "drift" a little) and become confused and even faint or have convulsions if not given Oxygen support.

The underlying reason for the stroke must be addressed and treated before flying.

The cheaper alternative may be to keep the patient in Thailand for 6-8 weeks till his condition has completely stabilised.

[twentythreemc]

Thanks to all for your replies, Sheryl I have pm d you with some more details, At present my friend is unable to walk and due to the effects of the stroke and his speech is seriously impaired.

Common sense would dictate that he stay in Bangkok until fit to travel, and that would need to be certified by the medical staff as correct, before he can fly. I should imagine that if he has a blood clot that that would have to be treated, and as outlined in the previous posts the real risks posed by such a long journey cannot be understated.

I am hoping for an update on his condition tomorrow from his wife, and I believe since my original post that a member of his wifes family is who is a nurse is now attending upon him. I think she may be co opted into accompanying him home, and a couple of members of his immediate family are travelling out next week so there will be a few people on the ground trying to assist.

Thanks again for all your help

23

[FBN]

Perhaps Sheryl has already advised the following but it may be worthwhile to post it here. Some tips on doing a repatriation:

• Check with the travel agent or, if the ticket was baught with a credit card, with your card support services if there is no travel insurance. Some credit cards will automatically have some form of insurance included.
  
• Not all docs are familiar with aviation medicine and may certify a patient fit to fly without taking the problems related to altitude into consideration.
  
• Check with the airline about medical restrictions for this condition. Get a MEDA or MEDIF form from the airline. This is the medical declaration of fitness to fly and also has sections in it where special services can be requested ahead of the flight such as wheelchair and seat preferences. The treating doctor has to complete one section as well. It covers some of the airline and the patient liability and will facilitate the boarding.
  
• On the MEDA form indicate wheelchair to the seat or wheelchair to the door of the aircraft. This depends on if the patient can walk from the door of the aircraft to his seat (with assistance) or not. The wheelchair design is different if the patient needs to be taken to the seat. The airline will then provide staff at check-in to assist boarding and will take the patient through immigrations quickly as well.
  
• Request Oxygen at 4l/min for at least 4h as "standby". This allows the airline to calculate the number of cylinders they need to provide. This is usually free of charge.
  
• Request "bulkhead" isle seating. This is close to an entrance and toilet and has easier access to seat.
  
• Nurse escort should be fine but should be accompanied with one more person to assist.
  
• Be aware of the risk of further deep vein thrombosis during the flight. Ensure adequate treatment for this and the patient may need to wear DVT stockings as well.
  
• Try and get a Pulse Oximeter for the trip. This measures the level of oxygen in the blood and will alert the escort before hypoxia occurs. Normal saturation at sea level is 97%. This may drop to 95 at altitude even for normal persons. Signs of hypoxia will appear at about 85% or below. Oxygen should be given at this level.
  
• Should urinary catheters be required, only a bag that attaches to the leg of the patient will be allowed. This is covered by long pants and do not cause any distress or other problems for other passengers.
  

Hope this is helpful.

Take Care and Good Luck!

[twentythreemc]

Thanks again for your all your assistance in this matter. I have forwarded all the info on to my friends wife.

The last message we received today is his wife and he are on there way back to phetchabun for recuperation. He is now attempting to stand and i would imagine a course of physio is the order of he day.

Hoping he will be home in the not to distant future.

Regards

23