Dodgy?

[Tinkerpuss]

My sister-in-law has Motor Neurone Disease which is quite far advanced. She cannot talk, her left arm is paralysed and she is fed via a tube into her stomach, although she can still walk short distances.
To keep her spirits up my brother has booked a 2 week holiday Tenerife. He has not taken out travel insurance or declared her illness, in the belief that their EEC medical cards is all they need.
I do not want to deprive them this last chance of a holiday but surely they need proper medical insurance cover?

[EDDIE51]

Sorry but your brother is wrong ! someone with an illness as bad as your sister in law needs specialist attention available at all times . They will not even get as far as the flight as no airline would allow someone with such an advanced illness to get on the plane unless the condition was declared on the booking form and a medical certificate of fitness to travel provided.
I hate having to say this but anything other than a UK holiday is virtually impossible .Your SIL could easily get worse and need to be flown home in a specialist air ambulance , this will cost £10,000s and will not be covered on the EEC medical card.

[abstibus]

The MNDA website is helpful. Go to Publication No 25 re holidays.

[EDDIE51]

The MDNA web site is very good link here
http://www.mndassocia...day%20Information.pdf
But PLEASE read the information re insurance , not only for your personal medical conditions but for any equipment you need to have with you !
Insurance is absolutely essential , no airline will let anyone travel with out insurance so unless you get it you are not going to get past the check in desk.
Plus you will lose the entire payment and holiday.

[boxtops]

Your brother is very wrong, as the others say - the EHIC covers basic immediate medical care, not hospitalisation or repatriation if your SIL needs to fly home. Hospital care overseas can rack up costs, as can medication. He must declare her condition when taking out insurance, otherwise anything to do with that condition won't be covered.

Bearing in mind that travel insurance also covers loss of baggage, theft of cash, etc., they would be taking a huge risk to travel without it - if she's ill away, the costs of caring for her and/or getting her home could run into five figures at least.

Eddie, no airline has ever checked my travel insurance - do you mean, under tinker's SIL's medical condition they wouldn't let her on the plane? - if it's not declared, how would they know?

[EDDIE51]

Boxtops I have checked and any medical condition that could affect your ability to travel safely MUST !! be declared on the booking form.
Tinkerpuss has said that they have booked without declaring the medical problems , that alone will invalidate the booking. Once an airline get a passenger at check in with such a problem they will check that insurence is in place and that there is a medical certificate fitness to travel. If they just let her on the plane and there were problems the airline would be held responcible , they could be sued for £millions ! Someone with problems like this will not get past check in unless it is all cleared in advance.

[EDDIE51]

Even the MDNA web site makes it clear that the condition MUST be declared on the holiday booking form.

[237SJ]

Eddie, the airline would need some sort of fitness to travel information but you are incorrect in that they would need proof of insurance. Travel insurance is nothing to do with the airline. It`s up to the passenger whether they take it out or not.

[boxtops]

Thanks Eddie, but I agree with 237 too - when you book your ticket, you need to say if you are somehow infirm (particularly if it affects your ability to get off the plane in an emergency), but they don't want to see your travel insurance.

[237SJ]

It`s not so much about getting off the aircraft in an emergency. I remember the days when we had stretcher cases on aircraft (we don`t take them anymore). They travelled under the proviso that they couldn`t guarantee assistance if something drastic happened (crash wise). If someone is severely disabled, they have to have someone with them if they don`t meet certain criteria. They can certainly travel though. The insurance is down the passenger.

[Jennykenny]

This is very scary!!

[Tinkerpuss]

Thank you to everyone who replied to my question. I knew deep down that if my brother declares my SL's illness. she would not be allowed to fly. My brother is very caring but only thinks he is doing something good by taking her away on probably her last foreign holiday but he tends not to think about the possibility that something goes wrong.
Thank you for the link to the MND website annemollie and EDDIES 51 and yes jennykenny is IS scary!

[NOX]

I don't actually see an issue with her not being able to fly if her condition is disclosed. It's usually people who need oxygen etc they have issues with. My youngest daughter is wheelchair bound and we have never been refused air travel because her condition was disclosed first, insurance is nothing whatsoever to do with it. just tell your brother to go to the Drs with her and get a cert of fitness to travel and amend t he booking with the airline, and if he's wise get some sort of insurance in place in case of problems but it's not a necessity to travel.