Doing the right thing – whatever the circumstances

The whole story

When medical emergencies happen to any of our clients, our priority is to find urgent treatment and care in a safe, well-equipped environment – even when circumstances are unusual.

Our customer was found collapsed and alone in Thailand, and he needed to be evacuated to Bangkok for treatment. It was clear that his condition was life threatening, but key decisions such as this needed consent, and there were no family members or friends present and the patient was in no position to provide it. Our ethos is to provide the best possible care and we managed the situation:

• Every effort was made to contact a family member or friend, although the underwriter agreed that he could be moved without consent
• Contact with a UK based friend who had power of attorney was eventually obtained with the help of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
• The friend was prepared to approve evacuationThe Bangkok hospital’s medical advice was that the patient was not going to survive and in the UK, that life support would have been switched offThe friend agreed to this action in Bangkok, but local law would not allow it
• The options were repatriation to the UK or stay in Bangkok with no possibility of recovery
• We obtained past medical history and the underwriter agreed to cover for medical and travel expenses

Once home in the UK, the patient died in an appropriate and caring environment with high standards of medical care.