Repatriation from france, medical style...

S

SandraL

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Recently broke both heels and a vertebrae in france. French hospital cemented vertebrae and said off you go to uk.

I have no medical insurance so had to find my own way back, here are some quotes I got.

Personal medivac by plane. Includes transfer to local french airport, Clermont Ferrand, flight to Bristol, ambulance transfer to Bath
All in, no extras £14223
From IAS Medical 01207 2052 247

Rang them on bank hol monday 2030 hrs, freindly confident help with email quote within 30 mins. Also offer I could ring back for a chat, I must have sounded bad....

2nd quote from Flight Medic UK, 0115 8718161
My son spoke to James Burke who offered 2 options

Flight on normal aircraft, they remove seats at rear and fit stretcher
Cost about £8500
But flights would be from Lyon, via either Germany or Turkey into London. Would include ambulance transfers either end. Note you have to be at airport 3 hours before takeoff, so theres 6 hours straight away.

Or Ambulance transfer from french to uk hospital. Done by uk paramedics in emergency ambulance. These are private guys but trained and ex nhs.
Cost £3600 all in.

We were able to take the land transfer once frech doc agreed spine was ok for journey.

There was no time to shop around, che k quotes etc but I was very pleased with the service I received.

Now sat in uk hospital waiting for the op on ankle.

Now think how youmight get your van home, for us 2 freinds had their son drive them down, son returned to uk. Freinds stayed with wife until i was about to be discharged and drove her home. My son or daughter cant drive over 3500kg...

Right now I.m feeling very lucky.
 
That is certainly a wake up call for travel insurance. Got ours as part of our bank account. Glad you got back safe and sound
 
Wow sounds like you are sorted(y) can I ask how you managed to hurt yourself.

Martin
 
Glad you back and sorted..

Will you say why you had no
iandsm said:
Glad you are ok now. Was there any reason not to have travel insurance?
Click to expand...

The question i think we all want to ask..
Glad your ok and sorted.
 
Did you have to pay anything at the hospital for treatment, and did you have your EHIC card..?

Thanks for starting this thread and any answers you can give, I’m sure it would be very helpful to a lot of people on here..

Hope you get better to full health quickly...:)
 
A quick recovery and best wishes to you and hope you are back very soon in your Motorhome.
 
glad it has worked out, cost for land recovery sounds very reasonable, although it would be so much better if paid by insurance

hope the recovery goes well (y)

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You could have advertised on here, someone may have taken you back in their motorhome.
My van has the same air suspension fitted to ambulances.
 
SandraL said:
Right now I.m feeling very lucky.
Click to expand...
I am pleased for you @SandraL, and hope that your recovery is swift. (y)

I too would be interested to know how the injury happened, if you are happy to tell all. :)

All the best with the recovery,

Jock. :)
 
Good to hear you are ok and all ended well with the repatriation. A costly lesson learned no doubt and a wake up call to others who don't insure.
We wish you well for a speedy recovery.
Thanks for your heads up post.(y)
 
SandraL said:
Recently broke both heels and a vertebrae in france. French hospital cemented vertebrae and said off you go to uk.

I have no medical insurance so had to find my own way back, here are some quotes I got.

Personal medivac by plane. Includes transfer to local french airport, Clermont Ferrand, flight to Bristol, ambulance transfer to Bath
All in, no extras £14223
From IAS Medical 01207 2052 247

Rang them on bank hol monday 2030 hrs, freindly confident help with email quote within 30 mins. Also offer I could ring back for a chat, I must have sounded bad....

2nd quote from Flight Medic UK, 0115 8718161
My son spoke to James Burke who offered 2 options

Flight on normal aircraft, they remove seats at rear and fit stretcher
Cost about £8500
But flights would be from Lyon, via either Germany or Turkey into London. Would include ambulance transfers either end. Note you have to be at airport 3 hours before takeoff, so theres 6 hours straight away.

Or Ambulance transfer from french to uk hospital. Done by uk paramedics in emergency ambulance. These are private guys but trained and ex nhs.
Cost £3600 all in.

We were able to take the land transfer once frech doc agreed spine was ok for journey.

There was no time to shop around, che k quotes etc but I was very pleased with the service I received.

Now sat in uk hospital waiting for the op on ankle.

Now think how youmight get your van home, for us 2 freinds had their son drive them down, son returned to uk. Freinds stayed with wife until i was about to be discharged and drove her home. My son or daughter cant drive over 3500kg...

Right now I.m feeling very lucky.
Click to expand...
Really glad that every thing is now OK But I have to ask, if you were ok to be driven back laying down in an ambulance, would it not be a much cheaper to lay in the motorhome and your wife drive you home?
 
Thanks for posting the information.

Hope you make a speedy recovery.

Good luck! (y)

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Ouch!.....on all fronts. Wishing you a rapid recovery.
 
Thanks all for your concern.
Accident involved a zip wire, and it was my fault. Not sure any insurer if they knew full facts would cover it. Cables had been set up with warnings not to use, probably because the angle was high and anyone foolish enough to ride them would arrive at high speed at the end, a rock face.
Although my wife was on insurance it was in the hope I could convince her to drive it one day, now clear never going to happen.
With both legs unable to take any weight getting into rear over garage bed on our van would be very diffjcult. Also with spine just repaired I did not want unecessary manhandling.
As I needed assistance I was happy to pay for the land ambulance and paramedics. They also had stretcher, easy access etc.
Re taking insurance, cmon I,m invincible, right?
As a general stand I have taken minimal insurances and saved the premiums for this occasion, not sure if I broke even!
E111 I did show it and they did eventually realise I had no insurance. So far paid 20 euros for the rescue, inc helicopter, treatment and food etc. Might be a bill arriving soon at home address?
Note helicopters in mountains definately charge, but apparently not elsewhere.
 
I doubt most insurance companies would have covered a "sporting" accident that could be construed as a "dangerous" activity.
Our sympathies though for your accident and trust in a speedy recovery
 
So sorry to hear of your accident but glad to hear your home and on the road to recovery.
 
Hope you have a speedy recovery.

This should be a wake up call for all those who don’t have medical insurance.
When we started motorhoming about 15 years ago I had an accident in Stenay,France.We drove into the Museum of Brewery by mistake instead of the Aire between the brewery and the river.I got out to help my husband reverse the van and promptly fell backwards over the high kerb and broke my right ankle and left foot simultaneously.
I was in hospital in Verdun for 3 days and had to be repatriated by my insurance company as I was in plaster to my knees with both legs.
They took me by private ambulance via the Tunnel to my son’s flat in London.They said they could have flown me back via Paris but this was the faster option.
My husband caught the ferry a few days later with the van.He had to take the dog to the vet first for the passport requirements.
I was in a wheelchair for 3 months and we had a reversing camera fitted to every van after that !
Our insurance was peanuts and it could have cost thousands of pounds.

I now use Nationwide Flex Plus for medical insurance and breakdown insurance.
 
Hope you get well soon . As you say even with insurance ( which as everyone says you should always have ) they may not have paid out. With it being as you say , your fault , going on a zip wire with signs saying not to use !
In hindsight.... and all that !
It could have been a lot worse crashing into a rock face full force. Hope you make a full recovery. Very Soon.
 
Yep get well soon.
Darwin effect wins every time :rolleyes:

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This has always been my biggest fear. My husband has cardiac problems and I've always said to him that the repatriation costs would be huge. This year alone I have paid over £700 for an annual travel insurance policy. The cost of a holiday but peace of mind for me that should anything happen I have a number to ring. I've often joked that if the worst was to happen and he snuffed it I'd drive him back myself. After years of this I've had to have a dark sense of humour, we both have.

I'm glad you are back safe and sound and although that was quite a bill you had you haven't had to sell your house etc to fund it. Hope you recover soon (y)
 
Pleased you are back even if it did cost you a bit..
Best wishes for your operation, and hope you make a good recovery..
Andy.
 
@SandraL I hope you make a full and complete recovery. I do understand why you did not have travel insurance and am sorry you have had a large bill to pay.

We are just back from a cruise (full travel insurance with cruise cover and dangerous sports cover taken - with extra cost) and we will be making a claim for 24 hour cabin confinement following a minor digestive upset - luckily not the dreaded norovirus. However it transpired that many people on the cruise had relied on "free" travel insurance provided by High Street banks - and it further transpired that this travel insurance does not always cover cruises..... one poor lady had to be taken off the ship due to illness and found her insurance was not valid for the medical treatment she had on board or for the transfer back to land (luckily not a helicopter transfer).

Another man managed to get stung by something when on a tour and picked up an infection. The medical treatment and antibiotics had racked up in excess of £500 when I spoke to him and he was relying on insurance via his bank account ..... wonder if they will pay up?
 
Puddleduck said:
@SandraL I hope you make a full and complete recovery. I do understand why you did not have travel insurance and am sorry you have had a large bill to pay.

We are just back from a cruise (full travel insurance with cruise cover and dangerous sports cover taken - with extra cost) and we will be making a claim for 24 hour cabin confinement following a minor digestive upset - luckily not the dreaded norovirus. However it transpired that many people on the cruise had relied on "free" travel insurance provided by High Street banks - and it further transpired that this travel insurance does not always cover cruises..... one poor lady had to be taken off the ship due to illness and found her insurance was not valid for the medical treatment she had on board or for the transfer back to land (luckily not a helicopter transfer).

Another man managed to get stung by something when on a tour and picked up an infection. The medical treatment and antibiotics had racked up in excess of £500 when I spoke to him and he was relying on insurance via his bank account ..... wonder if they will pay up?
Click to expand...
i would think they are as reliable as most paid for insurance, with all these type of things, breakdown is another, you dont know how good they are till you need it:(
 
chaser said:
i would think they are as reliable as most paid for insurance, with all these type of things, breakdown is another, you dont know how good they are till you need it:(
Click to expand...

You are quite correct..... thing is that "world wide" often specifically excludes cruises but the people who rely on the cover have not read that part and think "world wide" means just that :( We will find out how good "Get Going" travel insurance is for sure! If they do not pay out it isn't a big issue as the day we were in the cabin was a sea day not a port day and there were several decent films on the cabin entertainment system.

Anyway I still hope that @SandraL will soon be better. Having to drive what appears to be a massive beast of a vehicle, in a foreign country, in a stressful situation, for the first time is not something any sane person would want to experience.

If you do have another named driver on your insurance it might be as well to check he or she would be willing to drive if necessary - otherwise it might be a good idea not to have them as a named driver at all.

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