A man who fell ill while on holiday in Greece with his wife is now facing a whopping £38,000 medical bill. Gwyn Elward was two days into his holiday in Zante with his wife of 52 years, Rosalind, when he felt so “shattered” he couldn’t get out of bed.
Rosalind, 74, insisted that he go to the doctors, and after a few checks an ambulance was called for Gwyn, 73, to be taken to the local hospital. Rosalind explained that on arrival there, she just had to show Gwyn’s UK Global Health Insurance Card, which lets you get necessary state healthcare in the European area.
Gwyn, from Pencoed, was at that hospital for four days but the doctors there advised he needed more specialist treatment so he was moved to a hospital in Athens. Rosalind explained how they arrived in the middle of the night and Gwyn was immediately taken to intensive care.
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However, Rosalind signed something which she believed was required to get him admitted. She was then asked for a £5,000 deposit.
“I said I’m insured. He said no, as a deposit, so panic me now I just paid it. He was in that hospital then for nearly two weeks. They kept onto me they wanted paying, they wanted thirty grand. I said I haven’t got thirty grand, I was in a right state,” she explained.
Rosalind’s family managed to organise a hotel near to the hospital for her to stay in, and she walked to visit Gwyn every day. While he was in intensive care she was only allowed in his room for 15 minutes a day and was masked and gowned each time. There, Gwyn raised concerns with her about the aircon unit.
“When we got back home then, he was in hospital here, and they detected legionella,” Rosalind explained. She believes the only place he could have caught this is in the intensive care room.
Legionnaires’ disease is caused by breathing in tiny droplets of water containing bacteria that then cause an infection. Environmental health visited Gwyn to collect samples after they arrived home on September 14, and the couple should know more about the root of the infection in the coming weeks.
The great-grandfather spent a total of four days in the community hospital in Zante before spending a further 13 days in hospital in Athens. Three of those days were spent in the intensive care unit being treated for his heart. Fortunately that is all under control now. For the latest health and Covid news, sign up to our newsletter here
When Gwyn arrived home he was admitted to the Princess of Wales Hospital in Bridgend where Rosalind said he was diagnosed with pneumonia and legionnaires disease. He underwent four blood transfusions and was discharged from hospital last week.
Rosalind is now dealing with the stress of having to cover the medical bill after she says she was told by her travel insurance they would not be covering the costs. “They sent me a letter with a breakdown of what we’re going to pay, it is £30,000 for the hospital, then it’s four doctors at £1,000 something to each.”
The mother-of-three has become extremely stressed by the situation, so a friend has set up a GoFundMe page to help ease the burden. You can make a donation here.
Rosalind said people had been “incredibly kind” in donating to the fundraiser, and that she and Gwyn are both extremely grateful for the help and support.
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