To think that this couple should have purchased travel insurance?

[shrimponastick]

I can't find a more current link sorry, but this story is being featured on the morning news in my area.
www.radioaire.co.uk/news/local/leeds-mum-facing-weeks-in-homeless-shelter-in-spain-after-giving-birth-to-baby-13-weeks-early/

It doesn't say so in the link, but the updated news story says that they didn't have a travel insurance policy. The baby was b orn very prematurely, and has unfortunately had to have 3 operations so far. The baby now requires a fourth op, and the mother wants it to be done in Leeds - however to fly them home costs £12000.

I feel sorry for the couple in that they are havng to go through this - a prem baby. But on the other hand how lucky are they that this was an EU country where they are getting the actual treatment provided. What if they had visited the USA or somewhere else, where they would be paying a heck of a lot for any treatment.

Travel insurance can be bought for less than £20 - so AIBU?

I just feel desperately sorry for them. We all make mistakes and they have paid a huge price for theirs. I hope they get their precious poorly baby home very soon.

They are lucky they are in Europe. A lady in the pregnancy board a couple of years ago had her baby prematurely in Tunisia and had to pay hundreds of pounds daily in order to avoid having life support turned off.

Nancy - yes, I accept that, but the number of people in, for example, Boscastle, who didn't have insurance was ludicrous.

The EHIC (formerly E111) gives basic coverage equal to that given to a national of that country. This will not be the same as the incredibly generous NHS. Going abroad without insurance is foolhardy.

tbf couldn't this situation happen even they were in this country. She has relatives to stay with but they are two hours away, I'm sure even in the UK people end up having their prem babies cared for a 2 hr drive away for various reasons, especially if high level care is needed. The baby has medical full care and it sounds like she has too, having a c-section and infection treatment. The only issue is one of housing, not medical care.

Not everyone's travel insurance is £20. Mine isn't as I have several conditions.

Of course, I factor that into the cost of a holiday, but I can see how somr people might chance it.

We always get it. I'm not even sure what you get with the E111 form.

YANBU

Obviously it's a horrible situation, but yes, they should have purchased travel insurance. The online EHIC information & application page very clearly state that The card is not an alternative to travel insurance. It will not cover any private medical healthcare or costs such as mountain rescue in ski resorts, being flown back to the UK, or lost or stolen property. Therefore, it is important to have both an EHIC and a valid private travel insurance policy.

I have to pay a ridiculous amount for travel insurance because I am Broken. I've not had to seek medical assistance abroad since I was a teenager, but I fork out for cover every time, Just In Case.

Many UK hospitals and special care units have parent rooms available. The implication is that the couple think they need free accommodation, can't believe there are not inexpensive b and b's/youth hostels nearby. Even if they returned to Leeds there is no guarantee that appropriate treatment would be available there so travel/accommodation costs might still be an issue. Baby will need a passport to travel as and when she is fit enough , presumably they will have to fund that too and iirc the Consulate charge above the regular UK fee.

Ugh that's awful. I'm so paranoid about travel insurance, it's one of the few things I'm up for spending more on when travelling in order to get the best coverage. Those poor people.

Many, many years ago I worked in the travel insurance industry and was the person who had to call people's families and explain that their policy wasn't going to cover the cost of falling ill or injuring themselves - mostly because they had either overstayed or failed to declare a pre-existing condition. I've seen too many relatives being bailed out to the tune of a large detached house in the south east. Proof of sufficient travel insurance / medical cover really ought to be a condition of entry into any country.

They were about to become parents so should have thought about this and acted like responsible patents. It's sad and best wishes to their family. But it is just a hard lesson to learn.

Taking out decent travel insurance is a non-negotiable extra IMO.

YANBU

But as a couple of posters have pointed out, it's now the baby receiving treatment, so the baby wouldn't have travel insurance or EHIC in her own name on account of not having been born when the mother left the UK.

Presumably the baby, having been born in Spain, is receiving treatment on the same terms as a Spanish national?

The problem is that the mother now has to stay at her expense.

Certainly a wake up call for anyone not travelling with insurance.

I completely agree. Its been on the radio a lot. Now they are trying to raise the money. Dont have a lot of sympathy except for the baby ofcourse.

One of the things I absolutely insisted on when we visited the US for a month at 16 weeks pregnant in 2008 was travel insurance.. DH was all "oh, we'll be fine"..

Lucky I insisted. I had a scan out there (out of pocket) as I felt something was wrong, and I was right. Emergency cerclage surgery, then 8 nights in hospital, and first class flights for us home as I had to stay flat on my back and needed "flat" seats - well, let's just say the $100,000 bill for the hospital stuff and $20,000 for the flights would have been "interesting" otherwise.

DC2 is fine, btw

I always feel now that no matter what we pay in insurance premiums in the future, we're always going to be coming out on top after that little lot!!

I hope this mother's experience encourages others to buy insurance and not find themselves in the same situation.

Obviously if you go abroad you make sure you have travel insurance. It's a no brainer.

Actually you can get cover for an unborn baby. You have to ask for it specifically and it's called 'unborn baby cover'.

I always mention it on threads like this because friends of ours got caught out and had to pay a lot of money in neonatal care.

YANBU.

Personally i think that they should stay in Spain for the baby's next op before returning home on a normal flight.
They are lucky to be in Spain - Spanish medical care is meant to be good; all the Staff Nurses are trained to degree level as well.

This has reminded me to get a new European Health card, & to start looking at travel insurance as i've been invited on holiday - i've got epilepsy & MH problems so take a lot of meds.

I was told by my insurer that cover for a baby born on a trip would be covered by the mother's insurance

Even if you do have insurance, it is not always straightforward, and the EHIC does not cover everything.
Last summer I was in Greece, and another guest in the hotel fell in the street over a 2" kerb and broke his hip. He went by ambulance to hospital, and his wife had to taxi back to the hotel for the EHIC and insurance details bfore they would treat it.

He had a hip replacement operation, covered by the EHIC. BUT, you only get the medical care/treatment locals would get, so his wife had to buy his food, medications, bandages, etc, she did an 8 hour stint every day nursing him and paid for 2 x private nurses for the rest of the time (because in Greece and many other European countries the families do the nursing).

She had to pay cash every day for the nurses, and also arrange for herself somewhere to stay once their original 2 week holiday had finished. He was in hospital for 3 months, then flown home to the UK.
Although they had adequate travel insurance, they could only claim on it once his treatment was finished (when he was back in the UK). All the expense of hotels, taxis, food, etc had to come out of their own money until they got back home and made their claim.

What I think I am trying to say is, even if you think you are covered by insurance, always make sure you have access to money from abroad (credit/debit cards) because you never know when you might neeed it.