Father currently in hospital

[bigjulie]

Hi,

 

I am not sure this is the correct place for this, but I will write anyway. I will split it into two sections, heres the first one.

 

My Father is 70 year old. He was born in England, has a British passport, but moved to Australia when he was a young lad. He had pains in his stomach, and was rushed to hospital in Leicester. They couldn't/haven't found out what was wrong him exactly, his spleen is damaged but they aren't sure why, but while doing tests they discovered he had 2 blocked arteries and was rushed to a coronary hospital nearby (not sure if its cool to mention the name). He's been in there 17 days, went from needing a double bypass immediately to potentially being discharged, which has led from feeling extremely comfortable and confident in the hospital to losing total confidence. (this is a whole 'nother bag of tricks which I may get into in future depending on happenings at the hospital tomorrow).

 

My query is, there have been murmurs from doctors that he isn't a 'native'. I had a quick look on the NHS website. He hasn't 'lived' there for quite a while and Im fairly certain he's never paid tax in the UK. But he was born in England and has a British passport? Is he covered under the NHS?

 

I'd just like to say he is in no way a 'medical tourist', he was just about to finish a 3 month holiday of the U.S., France + England. He is covered privately (and publicly) in Australia. I thought Australia had some sort of agreement with the UK? And err, Australia is a Commonwealth country?

 

The cost isn't the most important thing here, but I wonder if it's the reason hes being 'ushered' out the door? I am not sure how safe it is to fly with his condition but the hospital went from 'no way' to now possibly changing their minds (dear oh dear I could go on about them all day).

 

Thanks

[Marianne7]

If it is the specialist heart hospital near Leicester that I am thinking of, it's got a terrific name in coronary care, and on that score, at least, I think you can rest assured. I wouldn't think, even if he wasn't covered by NHS, that he would just be sent away. NHS is a very different place at the moment from that in which I have worked (and been treated by) for 40 years, but I cannot see that someone known to need surgery would just be sent home.

 

I truly hope this is not the case that you get to discuss this, and his diagnosis/care, with your father and the docs asap.

[ScarletPimpernel]

The UK has a reciprocal healthcare arrangement with Australia, so it shouldn't be a drama. Generally, this means that an Australian resident will be treated the same as a UK resident, but anything not covered by the reciprocal arrangement should be picked up by the patient's travel insurance or existing health insurance. The NHS is extremely bad at making sure the non-entitled pay, but it may be that in some areas where they do get many health tourists the question arises more often.

 

As far as flying is concerned, the ultimate decision lies with the airline. Airlines deal with fitness to fly in different ways - some simply want a chit from the treating doctor saying the patient is fit to fly, even though that doctor may not be trained in flight physiology. Others (e.g. British Airways) have a medical department that makes the decision. Yet others require the patient to be seen by a doctor approved by them. Most will have a list of contraindications to flight, or restrictions - for example, most won't allow flying for 48 hours after a cast has been applied unless it is bivalved. The restrictions are usually sensible, but may differ between airlines. Sometimes flying will be permitted, but only with a medical escort (which is what I used to do for a living).

 

The aviation environment is different to that on the ground, and physiological responses are different. For that reason, I would never suggest cuffing it - always get medical clearance from the airline. Any of their offices should be able to say what their requirements are. In addition, once clearance is granted, they will be able to make any special arrangements in advance, such as wheelchair assistance, lift on/off and so on.

 

If your dad has travel insurance, the nominated medical assistance company will usually take care of all this, and meet any additional cost.

[fitztheviking]

I work at said hospital and we are the cardiac center for the midlands and it is a center of excellence in coronary care.

 

i wouldnt worry about paying for treatment as you would have been told whilst he was in hospital, they are very quick to pick these things up. from experience i receive a phone call from that department within 8 hours of admission to the hospital.

 

also you will never get a dr to sign a letter saying he is fit to fly. if anything goes wrong the dr will be accountable and now that it is easy to sue the nhs they wont put themselves at risk. we can advise but it is his/ your decision. I even doubt it if they verbally say it is ok to fly. I know i wouldnt tell any of my patients its safe.

[smithy70]

You mean of course Glenfield Hospital. Not sure why everyone is so scared to mention the name.