The whole story?

[babs135]

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/10650179/grandad-stroke-cruise-europe-barred/

 

There is definitely something missing from this story. I'm wondering if he didn't have insurance or hadn't declared any pre-existing conditions otherwise why did they decline to help?

[Harry Peterson]

It's the Sun.  Never worth paying heed to, much like all the other trashy tabloids like the Star, Express, Mirror and Mail.

[terrierjohn]

5 minutes ago, Harry Peterson said:

It's the Sun.  Never worth paying heed to, much like all the other trashy tabloids like the Star, Express, Mirror and Mail.

Are you actually defending P&O Harry, or am I missing the twist in the tale?

[grapau27]

23 minutes ago, babs135 said:

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/10650179/grandad-stroke-cruise-europe-barred/

 

There is definitely something missing from this story. I'm wondering if he didn't have insurance or hadn't declared any pre-existing conditions otherwise why did they decline to help?

If you mean insurance it could be either.

If the doctor gave him clearance I can't understand why he wouldn't be let back on board.

[terrierjohn]

2 minutes ago, grapau27 said:

If you mean insurance it could be either.

If the doctor gave him clearance I can't understand why he wouldn't be let back on board.

If there was doubt about his insurer covering the costs, then the Captain would not want P&O to have to carry the cost of any possible helicopter medivac.

[grapau27]

Just now, terrierjohn said:

If there was doubt about his insurer covering the costs, then the Captain would not want P&O to have to carry the cost of any possible helicopter medivac.

Good point.

When you check in online you are asked to provide your insurance details.

Apparently the gentleman said he had previous strokes so he either had no insurance or failed to notify his health issues to the insurance company.

[ann141]

4 minutes ago, grapau27 said:

Good point.

When you check in online you are asked to provide your insurance details.

Apparently the gentleman said he had previous strokes so he either had no insurance or failed to notify his health issues to the insurance company.

It is possible to have insurance which just excludes certain conditions e g this gentleman may have taken out insurance, told the company about his past history and they have provided cover for everything apart from anything related to his past illnesses.

[grapau27]

4 minutes ago, ann141 said:

It is possible to have insurance which just excludes certain conditions e g this gentleman may have taken out insurance, told the company about his past history and they have provided cover for everything apart from anything related to his past illnesses.

That's possible but highly risky and expensive if that condition occurred on holiday and he wasn't covered.

Much better to pay to be fully insured.

[ann141]

2 minutes ago, grapau27 said:

That's possible but highly risky and expensive if that condition occurred on holiday and he wasn't covered.

Much better to pay to be fully insured.

I agree but sometimes insurers won t insure at all rather than just quoting a high price.I have a long term condition that is well controlled(haven t been ill for 20 years)and I take the risk that if I became ill I may have to cancel(its not something that comes on suddenly like a stroke)but my bank will cover me for any other condition but not that one .When I have tried to get cover to include the long term condition most companies just won t insure me at all so its a risk I choose to take

[grapau27]

1 hour ago, ann141 said:

I agree but sometimes insurers won t insure at all rather than just quoting a high price.I have a long term condition that is well controlled(haven t been ill for 20 years)and I take the risk that if I became ill I may have to cancel(its not something that comes on suddenly like a stroke)but my bank will cover me for any other condition but not that one .When I have tried to get cover to include the long term condition most companies just won t insure me at all so its a risk I choose to take

Okay I understand.

I had a mild heart attack at home December 18th and had a stent fitted in hospital and given the all clear.

We told insurance company who instantly cancelled that policy which had 4 months left then quoted £2000 for a new annual policy which we declined as it was 10x our existing policy and will go elsewhere to a medical specialist company.

Edited January 2, 2020 by grapau27

[ann141]

1 hour ago, grapau27 said:

Okay I understand.

I had a mild heart attack at home December 18th and had a stent fitted in hospital and given the all clear.

We told insurance company who instantly cancelled that policy which had 4 months left then quoted £2000 for a new annual policy which we declined as it was 10x our existing policy and will go elsewhere to a medical specialist company.

Sorry to hear you have been ill recently but glad to hear you have been given the all clear.Good luck in finding cover with a medical specialist company

[grapau27]

6 hours ago, ann141 said:

Sorry to hear you have been ill recently but glad to hear you have been given the all clear.Good luck in finding cover with a medical specialist company

Thank you.

A new company said wait 6 weeks after your stent op and the price will be much better.

[daiB]

11 hours ago, terrierjohn said:

If there was doubt about his insurer covering the costs, then the Captain would not want P&O to have to carry the cost of any possible helicopter medivac.

As i understand the decision has to go to the US base as all doctors on Carnival ships work through them. They make the final decision not the P&O Captain. Even if he had the final say he is not gong to go against the doctor.

[kalos]

Glad to hear your on the mend Graham from your heart attack.

I also had had heart problems for the first time  and had to cancel the present New Year  cruise on the Ventura .

Only found out by having a sore rib checked out no other pain.Had 10 days in hospital ,angioplasty's, scans ,MRI's

and off to see a specialist later this week.

The insurance company were great and paid me back in full. Same as you I dread to think what we had not taken out

proper cruise insurance cover. I had no pre existing cover needs, now I will have and will declare them that's for sure.

Better to get full cover or as Ann did , look to see if the opt out of cover is a reasonable risk.

The man on the cruise newspaper story leaves us asking ..why decline the man insurance cover ?

Or why did he refuse P&O's help ? We may never get the full story.

Happy New year Graham and keep taking those tablets😉

[AndyMichelle]

1 hour ago, kalos said:

Glad to hear your on the mend Graham from your heart attack.

I also had had heart problems for the first time  and had to cancel the present New Year  cruise on the Ventura .

Only found out by having a sore rib checked out no other pain.Had 10 days in hospital ,angioplasty's, scans ,MRI's

and off to see a specialist later this week.

The insurance company were great and paid me back in full. Same as you I dread to think what we had not taken out

proper cruise insurance cover. I had no pre existing cover needs, now I will have and will declare them that's for sure.

Better to get full cover or as Ann did , look to see if the opt out of cover is a reasonable risk.

The man on the cruise newspaper story leaves us asking ..why decline the man insurance cover ?

Or why did he refuse P&O's help ? We may never get the full story.

Happy New year Graham and keep taking those tablets😉

Shame your not here Kalos but your health has to come first. 

Hope you are on the mend. 

Don't worry though, I am eating and drinking enough for both of us😊

Andy 

[grapau27]

2 hours ago, kalos said:

Glad to hear your on the mend Graham from your heart attack.

I also had had heart problems for the first time  and had to cancel the present New Year  cruise on the Ventura .

Only found out by having a sore rib checked out no other pain.Had 10 days in hospital ,angioplasty's, scans ,MRI's

and off to see a specialist later this week.

The insurance company were great and paid me back in full. Same as you I dread to think what we had not taken out

proper cruise insurance cover. I had no pre existing cover needs, now I will have and will declare them that's for sure.

Better to get full cover or as Ann did , look to see if the opt out of cover is a reasonable risk.

The man on the cruise newspaper story leaves us asking ..why decline the man insurance cover ?

Or why did he refuse P&O's help ? We may never get the full story.

Happy New year Graham and keep taking those tablets😉

Thanks Kalos I will.

Happy new year to you too.

Sorry you missed your new year cruise but thankfully your insurance company paid up.

Best wishes with your specialist appointment later this week and I sincerely hope everything goes well for you.

Graham.

[grapau27]

33 minutes ago, AndyMichelle said:

Shame your not here Kalos but your health has to come first. 

Hope you are on the mend. 

Don't worry though, I am eating and drinking enough for both of us😊

Andy 

Sounds like you have had a fantastic time.

I'm happy for you Andy and Michelle too.

[Harry Peterson]

It's a very risky gamble to travel outside the UK with any restrictions on your travel insurance.  Insurers have a reputation for linking pretty much anything to the excluded condition,  and you could be talking tens of thousands for air ambulances and private jets,  let alone the medical costs. 

[annieuk]

We had experience of this sort of thing but in our case it had a happy ending.  My husband had a medical problem and when he saw the Dr in the Medical Centre he said my husband had to go ashore at the next, or in our case, first stop which was St. John's Newfoundland - Aurora trip to Canada/USA.  So we had to pack up the cabin which we'd only unpacked four days previously when we left Southampton, and take an overnight case with us in case we had to fly home.  So we went to the hospital, saw a Consultant, there was a CT scan done and it was the Consultant's opinion  that my husband could safely go back on board and continue the cruise.  We had been in touch with our Insurance Company - we were fully covered - so they knew there was a possibility we may have had to fly home.  My husband had the Dr. on board's mobile number as it was on the bottom of the report he'd written for the hospital, with a copy for us.  Before we left the ship the Dr. had told us that if the Hospital was happy he'd be pleased to have us back on board.  The Consultant said that there was nothing critical that needed to be done.  My husband would need an MRI scan at some point - he thought there was a back problem - but didn't need doing immediately.  My husband managed to get hold of the Dr. on the ship who was reluctant to let us back on board.  He felt we should go home.  While this conversation was taking place the Dr. we'd been dealing with - the Consultant's Registrar happened to come by and I asked him if he'd be willing to speak to the Ship's Dr.  He agreed and they then had a conversation.  

Eventually he gave the phone back to my husband and then the Ship's Doctor said he would have us back on board but we had to sign an indemnity letter to stay that if anything untoward happened we wouldn't take any action against the Dr or P&O.  We agreed to this and managed to get a written report from the hospital to take back home with us, then caught a taxi back to the ship.  We had to go straight to the medical centre, to see the Dr. who was very pleasant, then sign the indemnity letter -  we could understand why they wanted this.  It was a great relief when we got back to our cabin and we ordered a Cream Tea from Room Service to celebrate as we hadn't eaten all day!

 

We'd been told that it was the Ship's Dr. who decided if we could continue the cruise, not the Captain.  So in our case it all worked out and we were able to continue the cruise with no further problem.  We were able to claim for the medical expenses on board from our Insurance company which has eventually been successful.  We were expecting to be charged by the Canadian hospital but we haven't been - didn't even have to show a credit card.

 

What we learnt from this episode is to be 100% sure you have full insurance cover and be prepared in case anything happens where you have to leave the ship, things like making sure you have mobiles - more than one in case one of you has to be in hospital and the other in a hotel, chargers, adapter plugs - we didn't think we'd need one as we would be on the ship all the time, so I had to buy one before we left for the hospital in case I needed to charge phones.  Our story had a happy ending unlike the man in the article but there must, as people have said, been more to it.  Maybe he wasn't covered at all, who knows.

[Rupert2251]

30 minutes ago, annieuk said:

We had experience of this sort of thing but in our case it had a happy ending.  My husband had a medical problem and when he saw the Dr in the Medical Centre he said my husband had to go ashore at the next, or in our case, first stop which was St. John's Newfoundland - Aurora trip to Canada/USA.  So we had to pack up the cabin which we'd only unpacked four days previously when we left Southampton, and take an overnight case with us in case we had to fly home.  So we went to the hospital, saw a Consultant, there was a CT scan done and it was the Consultant's opinion  that my husband could safely go back on board and continue the cruise.  We had been in touch with our Insurance Company - we were fully covered - so they knew there was a possibility we may have had to fly home.  My husband had the Dr. on board's mobile number as it was on the bottom of the report he'd written for the hospital, with a copy for us.  Before we left the ship the Dr. had told us that if the Hospital was happy he'd be pleased to have us back on board.  The Consultant said that there was nothing critical that needed to be done.  My husband would need an MRI scan at some point - he thought there was a back problem - but didn't need doing immediately.  My husband managed to get hold of the Dr. on the ship who was reluctant to let us back on board.  He felt we should go home.  While this conversation was taking place the Dr. we'd been dealing with - the Consultant's Registrar happened to come by and I asked him if he'd be willing to speak to the Ship's Dr.  He agreed and they then had a conversation.  

Eventually he gave the phone back to my husband and then the Ship's Doctor said he would have us back on board but we had to sign an indemnity letter to stay that if anything untoward happened we wouldn't take any action against the Dr or P&O.  We agreed to this and managed to get a written report from the hospital to take back home with us, then caught a taxi back to the ship.  We had to go straight to the medical centre, to see the Dr. who was very pleasant, then sign the indemnity letter -  we could understand why they wanted this.  It was a great relief when we got back to our cabin and we ordered a Cream Tea from Room Service to celebrate as we hadn't eaten all day!

 

We'd been told that it was the Ship's Dr. who decided if we could continue the cruise, not the Captain.  So in our case it all worked out and we were able to continue the cruise with no further problem.  We were able to claim for the medical expenses on board from our Insurance company which has eventually been successful.  We were expecting to be charged by the Canadian hospital but we haven't been - didn't even have to show a credit card.

 

What we learnt from this episode is to be 100% sure you have full insurance cover and be prepared in case anything happens where you have to leave the ship, things like making sure you have mobiles - more than one in case one of you has to be in hospital and the other in a hotel, chargers, adapter plugs - we didn't think we'd need one as we would be on the ship all the time, so I had to buy one before we left for the hospital in case I needed to charge phones.  Our story had a happy ending unlike the man in the article but there must, as people have said, been more to it.  Maybe he wasn't covered at all, who knows.

Thank you annieuk this is a very good report especially re charges, adapter plugs etc I know I wouldn't have thought of them! Just out of curiosity  which insurance company did you use? they sound very good.

[grapau27]

47 minutes ago, annieuk said:

We had experience of this sort of thing but in our case it had a happy ending.  My husband had a medical problem and when he saw the Dr in the Medical Centre he said my husband had to go ashore at the next, or in our case, first stop which was St. John's Newfoundland - Aurora trip to Canada/USA.  So we had to pack up the cabin which we'd only unpacked four days previously when we left Southampton, and take an overnight case with us in case we had to fly home.  So we went to the hospital, saw a Consultant, there was a CT scan done and it was the Consultant's opinion  that my husband could safely go back on board and continue the cruise.  We had been in touch with our Insurance Company - we were fully covered - so they knew there was a possibility we may have had to fly home.  My husband had the Dr. on board's mobile number as it was on the bottom of the report he'd written for the hospital, with a copy for us.  Before we left the ship the Dr. had told us that if the Hospital was happy he'd be pleased to have us back on board.  The Consultant said that there was nothing critical that needed to be done.  My husband would need an MRI scan at some point - he thought there was a back problem - but didn't need doing immediately.  My husband managed to get hold of the Dr. on the ship who was reluctant to let us back on board.  He felt we should go home.  While this conversation was taking place the Dr. we'd been dealing with - the Consultant's Registrar happened to come by and I asked him if he'd be willing to speak to the Ship's Dr.  He agreed and they then had a conversation.  

Eventually he gave the phone back to my husband and then the Ship's Doctor said he would have us back on board but we had to sign an indemnity letter to stay that if anything untoward happened we wouldn't take any action against the Dr or P&O.  We agreed to this and managed to get a written report from the hospital to take back home with us, then caught a taxi back to the ship.  We had to go straight to the medical centre, to see the Dr. who was very pleasant, then sign the indemnity letter -  we could understand why they wanted this.  It was a great relief when we got back to our cabin and we ordered a Cream Tea from Room Service to celebrate as we hadn't eaten all day!

 

We'd been told that it was the Ship's Dr. who decided if we could continue the cruise, not the Captain.  So in our case it all worked out and we were able to continue the cruise with no further problem.  We were able to claim for the medical expenses on board from our Insurance company which has eventually been successful.  We were expecting to be charged by the Canadian hospital but we haven't been - didn't even have to show a credit card.

 

What we learnt from this episode is to be 100% sure you have full insurance cover and be prepared in case anything happens where you have to leave the ship, things like making sure you have mobiles - more than one in case one of you has to be in hospital and the other in a hotel, chargers, adapter plugs - we didn't think we'd need one as we would be on the ship all the time, so I had to buy one before we left for the hospital in case I needed to charge phones.  Our story had a happy ending unlike the man in the article but there must, as people have said, been more to it.  Maybe he wasn't covered at all, who knows.

Thanks for sharing and happy that you were able to continue your cruise and hopefully your husband is fit and well now.

 

[annieuk]

Our insurance was through my husband's bank.  I'm afraid the illness from which my husband is suffering was something that was very difficult to diagnose.  On our return home he saw a Consultant the day we returned and it was only after various tests that the underlying illness was diagnosed.  It would not have helped had we flown home as the first appointment that the Consultant had was the day we were returning.  Now, thankfully we know what the problem is and the illness is under control with the help of a really good hospital.  We can understand that a Ship's doctor has to look at the possibility of someone, who although they may be fit to rejoin the ship, may develop another problem or the same problem reoccurring so the doctor has to do what he or she thinks best.  All I know is that I won't go on any cruise or on any overseas holiday without full insurance and at least be prepared, especially on a cruise, if the unexpected does happen.  I had read about people having to leave a ship because of a medical emergency but never thought it would happen to us, especially to me always fit, never ill husband.  Be Prepared is a good motto.  Although our insurance company has served us well, because of my husband's illness I think we will now switch to a company that is recommended for people with my husband's problem.  

[molecrochip]

8 hours ago, daiB said:

As i understand the decision has to go to the US base as all doctors on Carnival ships work through them. They make the final decision not the P&O Captain. Even if he had the final say he is not gong to go against the doctor

 

 

 

The doctor updates the captain at least daily. If the doctor feels someone needs to leave ship either in port or via medical evacuation/diversion then he informs captain who makes appropriate decision. Southampton co-ordinate arrangements. I can confirm this from experience as it was a close call as to whether evacuation by helicopter took place. No input from US.

 

It may be different in US waters, my experience was in the Atlantic when we were off the coast of Spain.

[grapau27]

6 hours ago, annieuk said:

Our insurance was through my husband's bank.  I'm afraid the illness from which my husband is suffering was something that was very difficult to diagnose.  On our return home he saw a Consultant the day we returned and it was only after various tests that the underlying illness was diagnosed.  It would not have helped had we flown home as the first appointment that the Consultant had was the day we were returning.  Now, thankfully we know what the problem is and the illness is under control with the help of a really good hospital.  We can understand that a Ship's doctor has to look at the possibility of someone, who although they may be fit to rejoin the ship, may develop another problem or the same problem reoccurring so the doctor has to do what he or she thinks best.  All I know is that I won't go on any cruise or on any overseas holiday without full insurance and at least be prepared, especially on a cruise, if the unexpected does happen.  I had read about people having to leave a ship because of a medical emergency but never thought it would happen to us, especially to me always fit, never ill husband.  Be Prepared is a good motto.  Although our insurance company has served us well, because of my husband's illness I think we will now switch to a company that is recommended for people with my husband's problem.  

Great advice.

Happy to hear your husband's illness is under control.

[jeanlyon]

It's odd that they wouldn't let him back on board, it's only overnight from Zeebrugge, so would hardly need a medivac.  Also, the person above who hadn't had his illness recur in 20 years also strikes me as odd, as you only have to declare things that have happened in the last 5 years normally.