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-   -   HELP! NZ Biker down in Croatia! Needs to get to UK for Surgery ASAP! (https://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hubb/the-hubb-pub/help-nz-biker-down-croatia-76744)

welovebikes 12 Jun 2014 16:09

Thanks
 
Hi

Good advice and I'll tell them that when we check them in. Just got a PM from a great chap saying he will ask a friend with a plane if he can go and fetch them at cost.

I think they are cleared for commercial travel, but it just goes to show what a great site this is and what fantastic people are linked to it!

Thanks to everyone.

Chris

chris 12 Jun 2014 16:22

Just thought. My normal uk bike insurance does NOT cover events like track days. Also, many travel insurances don't cover injuries sustained from falling off a bike over 125cc. I haven't got the small print of my travel insurance to hand, but I'd be very surprised if track days are covered ("dangerous" activities/sports etc).

I like the earlier post about picking the man and his Blade up off the track and depositing him on a road :scooter:

Cartografo 12 Jun 2014 16:30

Regarding Reciprocal Health Agreements with the UK, you can find the information here

Non-EEA country-by-country guide - Healthcare abroad - NHS Choices

Guess who I work for!

One that used to catch a lot of people out at this time of year is the fact that the reciprocal health agreement with the Isle of Man lapsed for a while, that could cause a lot of expense if you fell off when visiting the TT and didn't have "overseas" health insurance.

Luckily (for us Brits) it's back in place!

Regarding travel insurance, always look closely as the "not insured if riding a bike over 125cc" clause is usually in regard to bikes that you hire. My policy has a completely separate clause that states I am covered on any size bike as long as it's my own bike. The two clauses are in completely separate parts of the policy, so not obvious at first.

welovebikes 12 Jun 2014 16:32

Hi Chris

I did ask Heidi ad she said the insurance company OK'd the motorcycle riding and have now given clearance for costs incurred to be paid. We have to remember that the Kiwi's are the most extreme people on the planet, so I'm sure they don't have the same molycoddled insurance terms that we get stuck with!

Glad you liked the Blade story, it always makes think how well humans can adapt and get out of situations!

Cheers

Chris

welovebikes 12 Jun 2014 20:17

Thanks Carto and Welcome
 
Hi Carto

Very useful info and nice to have someone on the "inside" so to speak!

Yes, I remember that at the 2007 Centenary TT, the topic of "have you got health insurance?" kept coming up, but luckily got away unscathed that year and glad to know that it's back in place.

They seem to be a little easier on their customers in NZ and they have been cleared for treatment and hopefully flights too!

All the best

Chris


brendanhall 12 Jun 2014 21:16

did you get my private message? If not pm me and I will ring my friend with a plane and licence.....

anonymous1 12 Jun 2014 22:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by moggy 1968 (Post 469468)
At the risk of being controversial, what makes him think he's entitled to treatment on the NHS if he's from NZ?

The NHS is for people that have contributed to the system, not health tourists from other countries to come and make use of for free!

A piss poor attitude !!!

Reciprocal health agreements | Ministry of Health NZ

In short;

Reciprocal health agreements.

New Zealand has reciprocal health agreements with Australia and the United Kingdom (UK). Under each, certain services may be publicly funded for people covered by the agreements. Those services may be funded to the same extent as for a national of the country they’re visiting or staying in temporarily.

moggy 1968 13 Jun 2014 00:52

xenophobic?
interesting assumption as I am married to a non UK national! Also, I didn't mention anything about nationality, race, colour, religion or anything else that would possibly quantify someone as xenophobic. I said people who have paid into the system. They might be white, black or green and come from mars.


note the part in the recipricol arrangement

for a condition that arose after arrival into New Zealand, OR became, or without treatment would have become, acutely exacerbated after arrival.


for New Zealand substitute UK, as it's a recipricol agreement

BTW I have worked in the NHS for 25 years. I also worked in aeromed for several years bringing back damaged holidaymakers from abroad, so I probably have a bit more insight into this the some of the more hysterical, but not entirely unexpected, reactions to my post. I have also seen many members of the 'barmy army', or just regular holiday makers who have come back from abroad (even from Europe) having had to pay for treatment, received no treatment, or received extremely substandard treatment. The main moral of the story, is get good insurance that covers you for everything you will be doing.

whether he gets treatment will depend on how carefully the hospital he visits checks peoples entitlement. I would suggest avoiding the London ones as they are the most keen as they suffer most from the health tourist issue. I have seen people present at my hospital for treatment because they have been turned away by London Hospitals.

My statement stands and I will not be retracting it. It is not an opinion, it is a statement of fact. If you don't like it, well, sorry, that's reality for you. It is not a service for foreign nationals who have injured themselves in other countries who should be carrying the appropriate insurance for the activities they are taking part in to be either treated in that country or aeromedded back home. Maybe they don't recognise the term health tourist because they don't get them in New Zealand, but in this country it is a significant problem.


I wish your friend well in his recovery, but it is not the responsibility of the NHS to deal with that. It is already stretched to treat those that are entitled. Whether he gets treatment or not is of course, a different matter. He may, (in fact, probably will) but he needs to be prepared for the fact that equally he may not.

Walkabout 13 Jun 2014 09:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by welovebikes (Post 469586)
Hi Chris

I did ask Heidi ad she said the insurance company OK'd the motorcycle riding and have now given clearance for costs incurred to be paid.

Glad you liked the Blade story, it always makes think how well humans can adapt and get out of situations!

Cheers

Chris

So, with regard to the points made by those employed in the UK medical world, the patient should have a back up plan to go for private medical treatment should the NHS not provide support, for whatever reason (one persons' view of an emergency is not necessarily that of the professionals).

As for the anecdote about track day riding and removing crashed bikes onto public roads: this type of tale has been circulating for many years. It is also said that the insurance companies have representation at track days who take note of the road registered machines being used on track to prevent this concept of insurance fraud.
In general, there is much increased attention to preventing all forms of insurance fraud in the UK.

Walkabout 13 Jun 2014 09:08

These are my facts
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by chris (Post 469580)
And when at A and E, don't volunteer that injury happened a few days ago. I recall trying to check myself in once (can't exactly remember what I did: twisted knee?) and they asked when it happened and I said 2 days ago. They told me to get lost as the event has to have occurred within the last 24 hours for an A and E doctor to see me.

Good luck with sorting the situation.

For what it is worth, my broken arm received surgery two weeks after the break occurred, 4 days after I referred myself to A&E and two days after I was admitted to a ward bed. I was discharged from the hosp 3 days after the day of the operation and, at present, I still receive physio 4 years after the event.

chris 13 Jun 2014 09:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by Walkabout (Post 469690)
For what it is worth, my broken arm received surgery two weeks after the break occurred, 4 days after I referred myself to A&E and two days after I was admitted to a ward bed. I was discharged from the hosp after 3 days and, at present, I still receive physio 4 years after the event.

Apologies to anyone who is an A and E receptionist (or works at Huddersfield Royal Infirmary...), but it's probably down to the caring nature (or not) or the local NHS Trust policies that the "pitbull at the door" has to/chooses to implement. In my experience, once the receptionist has been negotiated, the care from the doctors and nurses in NHS establishments has always been 100%.

moggy 1968 13 Jun 2014 14:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by chris (Post 469694)
Apologies to anyone who is an A and E receptionist (or works at Huddersfield Royal Infirmary...), but it's probably down to the caring nature (or not) or the local NHS Trust policies that the "pitbull at the door" has to/chooses to implement. In my experience, once the receptionist has been negotiated, the care from the doctors and nurses in NHS establishments has always been 100%.

have to admit, your original post suprised me. receptionists don't have the power to turn people away. Even some triage nurses are reluctant and where they do have authority to turn people away it is within very strict, clearly defined protocols. The best you can generally do is advise people on a more appropriate course of action.

2 days is recent enough to be seen in A&E, indeed, for minor injuries we would generally expect people to have done the basics like taking pain killers and resting the limb to see if it got better.

The line on what is appropriate or not is a grey one but I would say around 40% of what presents to A&E shouldn't be there, for example 6 month history of non traumatic back pain, or my all time fave, someone who called an ambulance out for a paper cut!! But for your injury and time scale I would have said A&E was an entirely appropriate place to be.

xfiltrate 13 Jun 2014 16:40

Biker down
 
How about an update on the injured? It is my opinion that peace and quiet rather than stress contribute to the healing of the soul, mind and body.

Are Deane and Heidi remaining in Croatia or being evacuated?

Perhaps, obtaining funding for medical treatment from Deane's contracted private insurer, while he is a foreigner in Croatia might be less stressful then the proposed alternative. Once the Deane qualifies for British care the private insurer might or might not bail. Please check fine print on policy.

xfiltrate

Wildman 13 Jun 2014 20:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by Drwnite (Post 469623)
A piss poor attitude !!!

Reciprocal health agreements | Ministry of Health NZ

In short;

Reciprocal health agreements.

New Zealand has reciprocal health agreements with Australia and the United Kingdom (UK). Under each, certain services may be publicly funded for people covered by the agreements. Those services may be funded to the same extent as for a national of the country they’re visiting or staying in temporarily.

I didn't realise that Croatia was part of the UK.

Wishing the injured rider a speedy recovery all the same.

Wildman 13 Jun 2014 20:09

There are some Croatian guys over on ADVRider. Let me know if I can connect you with them if local help is still required.


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