Hi Mauri and Gregg St.Boy,



Apparently a lot has changed since the 70s. A member of our Irish Club went over last year, while there he had a serious Kidney infection, it was so bad he had to have Dialysis, he went back several times for a check up........1182 pounds it cost him. It was a chance he took as he couldn't get any insurance coverage here because of his age and state of health...he is now 83.



I hope this goes through alright as I continue to get spammed.



Beano

hi there,
i'm going over in august and have a uk passport and get a small british pension. but i've also paid for private health insurance. if very unlucky in health,or an accident, i'm assuming the private insurance will fund my return to australia? hopefully

Tom, It is always a good idea to be covered by Travel Insurance no matter where you go,I am lucky as one of my retirement benifits is a permanent travel insurance policy and although mostly because of my wife's medical problems we have not done any travelling out of the country for a couple of years maybe later this year or early next year we might take a trip to the UK going to Lisburn and then over to my wife's hometown in Wales at least we have been talking about it. "Who Knows" . Mauri

I hope I haven't been paying National Insurance for 40 years, to cover people how have been working and paying tax in another country. I'll be well P---ed off if that's the case. No offence. Pam

hey Mauri claim everything you can get ,when here good luck

Pamela. I can well understand why you would by p---off because somebody was getting a freebe when you have to pay into the National Health,but as Beano has pointed out his friend had to pay over a thousand pounds while on a visit to Northern Ireland. Although my Father in Law did not have to pay anything for his short stay in the Lagan Valley, he had paid into the National Health since its inception in 1948 and untill he immigrated to Canada in 1973 and during that time had never used the system and before that paid Taxes for nearly 30 years which I would think would be long before you were born so I don't think he got away with something. Mauri

check out the link to The Telegraph, it outlines the Govt's stance on Expat patient Care as it relates to Hospital stays that are non-emergencies. Copy and paste it to your browser and you should be able to see it.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/expat-health/11633938/Government-U-turn-on-NHS-access-for-expats.html

I feel hard done by that we cannot get Health Service attention when European "blow ins" can get it for free with a European Health Card.

Sucks

He paid into it since 1948 as that is the year the National Health Service came into operation.not the year he started work far from it as he was married in 1928 and his first daughter my late wife was born in 1930 the same year as myself both of us in the Lisburn District Hospital as the Lagan Valley was known then but I doubt if you would remember that??, and yes a lot of medical attention was required in those days just like today but patients had to pay for nearly everything if I remember correctly. Mauri

Hi Richard,

Thanks for your post, saves me giving the spiel to Donald. I agree with your sentiments entirely.

Great to see you back on the Forum.

Beano

I think it's always prudent to have holiday insurance wherever you're travelling, even if it's only a short stay. We take no chances and always take out insurance. There's not a problem then if anything does happen.

Hi all,

We always take out Holiday Insurance when going abroad tho' in Europe we are automatically covered, being in the E.E.C. but only for non-private care.

A couple of years ago in Spain my son took Vertigo & had to spend a few days in hospital. Luckily we had Holiday Insurance & his treatment couldn't have been quicker or better, in a small private clinic, private room & excellent care.

As one gets older it is wiser to be covered in case of anything unexpected happening. Cost is not that exceptional if you shop around.



Pat

As a follow up re my comments about my Father in Law, checking records he was 79 when he passed away in November 1984 one week after his youngest daughter died and just one year before his eldest daughter died, during this period my Mother also died in Belfast though I wasn't notified untill after her funeral in Hillsborough that was one of those years you like to forget about. Mauri

I must be cracking up, my Father in Law and his family immigrated to Canada in 1953 not 73 just dawned on me what I had written. Mauri

What a horrendous year that must have been for you Mauri and your wife I would say it would question your belief ! Ted

Ted, It sure was, my wife was in Hospital and just had an operation for cancer when her sister who was divorced and lived in a house by herself was found lying dead on her living room floor result of a heart attack. I had to inform my wife of this in hosptial and she immediatley signed herself out to attend the funeral etc and then a week later her Father died,a couple of months later we went off to Florida to relax for a few weeks and when we returned I was informed by my brother in law that my Mother had died in Belfast. Ten months later my wife also died peacefully at home. A couple of months later to get away from it all I took a trip back to Australia starting in California then Hawaii, Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore and Lisburn, the four weeks in Australia were the best the rest is just an alcoholic haze especially Singapore where I met up with a Oil Rig Tugboat Captain in the bar of the "Raffles Hotel" where we were both staying and tried to outdo each other with sea stories????. Only stayed that time in Lisburn for a week then over to London for a few days before heading home seems like an eternity ago now.???. Mauri

Anus Horibly comes to mind (Dodegy Spelling) and the Queens problem were insignificant in comparison ? You really must have hit rock bottom at that period Mauri and no doubt your prioreties would change !it reads like a nightmare and I thank my God and yours that you were able to get your act together and share your incredible life with the rest of us ,and I really wish you a fair wind on your back for the future. Mauri its always a pleasure to hear from you regards to yourself and Joy Ted

you sure have been through the mill Mauri you could write a book no doubt,always very interesting insights into your pastlife,keep it up