To try and get my Dad back to the UK so he can die here

@Ataloss23 this guide might be helpful?

https://hospiceuk-files-prod.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/2022-11/flying_home.pdf

To people questioning funding, @Ataloss23 's DF has the right to NHS care if he has the intention to permanently reside in the UK. Whether that ends up being a few hours, a few days, a few weeks or a few months, is irrelevant.

I'm so sorry OP. I lost my dad through pancreatic cancer. I don't have any advice except to say that I really don't think you have time to sort this x

Does he still have a valid UK passport? Just because the rules have changed and you now have to enter the UK on your UK passport, not your US one.

I hope you get it sorted x

I’m sorry you had that experience but fast track discharged with carers, equipment and support are available. They happen every day. It sounds like your hospital let you and your mum down

As others have said definitely get an email to your MSP for their caseworkers to read first thing in the morning. This kind of thing will take precedent over pavement parking and nasty neighbours.

Wishing you lots of luck with your plans.

Sorry you’re in this position, it sounds really rough. Poor dad. Poor you. I do think this sounds like a whole load of admin hassle, stress and risk that is surely the last thing he needs right now. Immigration has to be a headache at the best of times. I’d be worried about the flight and difficulties about getting care set up. It’s hard to get a GP in some places. I like the suggestion of ‘bringing a bit of Scotland home’.

Are you sure he's up to the flight? Will he be OK sitting in the seat for so long? Will he need access to treatment that would be hard to give on a plane?

Will the airline accept him as "fit to fly"? It would be tragic and traumatic if he died on the flight.

Many years ago I knew someone who arranged this in reverse - for a relative to fly out of the UK to their home country. It required a lot of paperwork - permissions and certificates from doctors, airlines (I remember there were issues regarding oxygen that were tricky), they hired a private nurse to accompany the relative and a private ambulance for the journey from Yorkshire to Heathrow and there were complicated arrangements at the other end. But in the end the poor relative did not make it home, but died in an office of a staff member at Heathrow.

My dad also had Hospice “care” at home. Worst experience of my life and I would never choose it again.

You really need to look into services in your area before you commit to anything OP.

I’m sorry for your troubles, sending you all love

Can’t comment on NHS England but NHS Scotland will provide the necessary care to a man who is dying.

You said you have a good GP talk to them. I would happily visit your home before you father returned and arrange for a hospital bed etc to be delivered, an assessment for any personal care he might need would have to be done once he was here but can be started that day. A referral to Marie Curie I would have thought could also be done before he arrives here if someone is able to provide all the necessary info. But he would need to be registered with a GP and as I said earlier I’m not sure if technically you can do this until he actually arrives back in Scotland but your GP may be happy to be flexible with the rules in this circumstance.

I thought anyone not living in ik
fir the past 12 months was not eligible for nhs care?

Yes, hes entitled to NHS care if he intends to return to reside here

OP, I hope you're away booking flights (rather than reading this thread) and if your friends have offered to pay for an upgrade, please accept it.

I also work in the NHS, and while it's failing in many areas, your dad's case will be treated with urgency. Even if he weren't eligible (he is), no medical professional would dream of denying pain relief to a dying cancer patient. As others said, call the GP as soon as soon as he lands. My dad died from pancreatic cancer, at home in Scotland, and I understand how important it is to you both to get him home. Marie Curie nurses were wonderful, even though he refused the morphine to the bitter end. You can get 'just in case' medication to keep at home, and a nurse or paramedic can come out to administer it when he needs it.

I'm so sorry for your dad and your situation. It is such a brutal disease. I wish you all the best and I hope he gets his dying wish. Good luck.

His wife would be allowed to stay in the UK for up to 6 months on a holiday visa. I would see if she can cancel her spousal/immigration application and come over on a “holiday” basis instead if she has no intention of settling in the UK after your dad passes

You doubted my experience. Of course I am going to respond!

But it sounds like the OP's dad is already requiring substantial care - someone earlier posted that he would be seen and assessed within 48 hours and equipment ordered to arrive the next dsy, but that still leaves 3 days, plus the flight and onward travel. 3 days is a lot to be without the provision he is currently getting in the US.

@BurnoutGP it doesn’t matter what we say both from a position of actual knowledge people will come along and tell us we wrong!
OP I reiterate you father is entitled to free care from NHS Scotland, register with a GP as soon s he arrives in Scotland ask for a community nurse to visit ASAP and get an urgent referral to the palliative care team at your nearest hospital. Bring as much info about his condition as you can. I hope wherever he dies be it in a hospital, home or hospice he dies peacefully and that you receive all the support and care that you and your family need.

You insisted that you had relevant experience. Yet your experience is obviously and plainly not relevant to this situation, and your continuing to argue about it is in poor taste. I know this is AIBU, but please desist.

Hang on. If that was that @Soontobe60’s experience, they have good reason to express their own sense that the OP might need to think very carefully before undertaking this move for her father.

Whatever else, there is no need to be rude to her/him.

Do ensure you won’t have a bill to pay. Gp services are available immediately but hospital bills are not covered. I returned from the USA (British citizen) and 11 months later found a lump, they said i would be charged i hadn’t been resident a year, luckily i was three weeks off so I waited. (Was benign thankfully)

I know that. My experience has been doubted and questioned- I replied. I lived abroad, I was no longer eligible to free NHS care. When I returned I had to prove I was living in the U.K. permanently before registering with a GP.

Seriously are you ok? He doesn't want care abroad. But once he arrives in the UK he is entitled. What are you arguing about?

I’m very sorry you had this experience and that the system failed your step father and your friends DH. But I know from the extensive feedback from the families I care for whose loved ones died peacefully at home that not everyone has the same experiences as you.
Yes some sadly do experience a broken system but many many don’t.

What I said about access and eligibility to nhs care when living abroad , informing the Gp etc is correct.

I’m also unsure your dad will be eligible for NHS treatment,
if you live permently abroad, although lots of NHS places are unaware of these rules.

www.nhs.uk/using-the-nhs/healthcare-abroad/moving-abroad/planning-your-healthcare/