Emergency! UK Webmasters/Citizens please read
 

Okay gang,

I've got a friend from the UK who's in the hospital with 75% 3rd degree burns. On life support. We and the hospital need to know if UK citizens are covered when they travel abroad or if it's just something that occurs within UK borders.

She's a famous magazine covergirl in Singapore too. Real bad shape she's in.

If you know, lemme know.

Sorry I don't know

yeah i think we're covered.

where is she now? Within the EU she should be okay but if she is else where she really should have taken travel insurance with solid medical cover.

Calling the embassy whereever you are might shed more solid light.

Im not UK but here's a genral rule of thumb:

try to find out if she has travel insurance
most ppl who go overseas have it - and it usually includes medical


I take it she is in singapore?

really sorry to hear. I think it depends on the insurance. I'm quite confident expenses will be covered.

Check her travel insurance documentation!!!! Usually when you go abroad you can take an travel insurance whoch should cover medical costs in the case of emergency!!

Hit me up on ICQ greg I may be able to get more info for you, I used to work for the government so I can check and see if the NHS still covers you when your abroad!!

What country is she in? Does she have travel insurance?

she has no chance.
sorry to hear it.

Oh man, it almost made me cry. I'm very sorry about her.

When I was in the hospital years ago because of my appendicitis operation there was this 9yo girl with almost her whole body burnt. She had to stay there for something like 3 months :(

Thanks Radical, I'll hit you up. She's in the U.S. right now. It's so tragic because she just got married to a pal of mine, they built their dream house from the ground floor up, just got done with it and she ends up like this. She was wearing a cotton gauze dress and candle lit it. Doctors said she had a 50-50 chance at the start but she's improving and undergoing skin grafts.

What's even more tragic is she's at the Westchester Medical Center Burn Unit which did lotsa work on 911 victims and the Burn Unit is gonna get shut down for lack of funding.

I don't understand how we in the U.S. can donate goo gobs of money to build hospitals in bumfuck whoknowswhere but when it comes to the only major burn unit in the metropolitan area during these terrorist years we can't keep em' afloat.

She was born in England and is a citizen there. She went on to become a top magazine model in Singapore before coming here a few years ago.

Her husband is a famous local artist and great-umpteen grandson of Stephen Hopkins who signed the Declaration of Independence. It's so tragic that we haven't told her fans in Singapore yet. I've got some pals in the government there who know of her and I've gotta tell them as they don't know yet. That's gonna be a real tough thing to do.

okay..I was a travel agent in the UK for a number of years. If she is in the US she needs travel insurance that covers medical. Now, she shouldn't have been able to buy the flights without some form of it.

Call the embassy!

Whilst the UK has reciprocal health agreements with some countries outside the E.U , there are no special arrangements for treatment of British citizens in the United States.

She'll need to have travel insurance and British Consulates and Embassies would not normally provide any assistance with medical expenses.

As Sarah said, and especially these days, a lot of places insist you purchase insurance, or show evidence of having existing travel insurance when you book your flights or holiday.

Good luck.

Inside the E.U yes, U.S I dunno.
Otherwise, travel insurance... make sure you have it

if they are visiting from the UK check with the travel agency to see about any medical insurance that may be with the trip booking
My GF works for RBC insurance here in the travel department and ive picked up al ittle knowalge. As for uk healthcare i have no idea. Alot of the time if the trip was booked of a creditcard you get covrage. Alot of visa cards have it. I dont think its full covrege but every little bit helps

sorry to hear. But are you asking here???????? Shouldnt you contact someone in the UK.

trust both an American and someone who spent 4 years as a 'north american travel specialist' - the answer is no.

Thanks gang,

This was tough but I think we've got it licked.

We're researching all angles and it looks good. We even are gonna build a website for her fans in Asia especially Singapore. Heck, if even each of em' donated a buck it'd pay for her bills 3 times over.

Several lessons being learned through this whole tragedy.

Make sure you have insurance and make sure someone knows where to access that info if you get hurt.

Try all the insurance angles. Get as much coverage as you can for the least amount of money. Really do the research.

Only way you get outta payin' big bills in the U.S. is to be a criminal. Then all your shit is paid for.

Cotton dresses near flames don't work.

what happens to a critically ill person in the US if it turns out they don't have insurance or a means of paying?

We take out our guns and shoot them in the head. What else can we do? :)

thought so

I am in the UK.

If I can do anything, email me at [email protected]

If it is an emergency, the hospitals have to treat you. Most every county also has arrangements of some kind to cover people with no insurance or money for essential medical treatment.

Thanks Allanuk, I'll email you. She's a really sweet person and what's so sad is she really worked her ass off her entire life to live her dreams. Soon as she gets there this stuff happens.

I owe ya one.

It happened to my father, he had a heart attack and got rushed to Harbour hospital in Long Beach. They performed heart surgery on him before they knew he did not have the money or insurance to cover it.

Once they admit you they are committed to care for you I believe.

12 months later he had an anurism, the hospital that sent the paramedics thought because he had the surgery he had money and kept him all day doing "Tests".

The delay in sending him straight back to Harbour killed him. The specialist who looked at the case afterwards decreed, that following the anurism he had less than a 50/50 chance of surviving, which is the level of liability for the hospital, but said if he had of been taken directly to Harbour it would of been better.

Left my mother alone and penniless, we now support her.

i dont get it. if she was in the US, then the hospital wouldnt ask if she had insurance. they have to treat her either way. so she would be treated to the best of the hospitals ability regardless of the info you seek....... please let us know why you wanted to know this???

OK I spoke with my director of operations in the U.K., it was of his professional opinion that unless your friend had prior travel insurance it will be rough getting her to the U.K.

However, he did recommend calling the UK consulate as they do mercy flights back to the UK if it things don't look for your friend.

While I am on the subject, if you find yourself doing alot of personal and business traveling, don't assume that your normal health insurance pays for medical evacuation, I am getting ready to start sending consultants all over the place again and I had these guys bookmarked before.

http://www.airmedassistance.com/index.html

I highly recommend everyone reading this thread to look this page over, for $195 they will fly you just about anywhere in the world back to your home hospital and include two emergencies a year for that price.

Unfortunatly the service is only for U.S. and Canadian citizens, but you could call them asking for a recommendation of a U.K. like company to get your friend back to the U.K.

I hope this helps, your friend is in my prayers tonight.

Thanks all of you guys who've responded.

The latest is I checked with her husband and he gave me her past flight actions. Her last time she flew in from Singapore was in '99. She then took a round trip from the U.S. to Singapore to get her personal effects and returned back to the U.S. 2 months ago. He says she did pay by cc and we'll have to check if the travel insurance will cover it.

Any other suggestions please lemme know.