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My Bupa story

When Beth Barr’s husband Jeremy was involved in a serious motorbike accident in Malawi, she was reassured to discover just how far Bupa International would go to make sure he received the best possible treatment.

 
Jeremy Barr

When Jeremy Barr sustained severe injuries in a crash on one of Malawi’s poorly-maintained dirt roads, there was enough for his wife Beth to contend with without the need to fight to get him the potentially life-saving treatment he required. Both born and raised in Malawi, but having lived in the USA for over 10 years, the couple feared that dealing with their health insurer would be a long, frustrating and costly process – especially when it became clear Jeremy’s injuries could not be treated in Malawi.

“He lost most of the skin down his left side, on his shoulder, back, both forearms, left side, left thigh and shin”, remembers Beth. “He smashed his left fibula completely about one and a half inches below the knee and he had a spiral fracture of the left tibia. Where the bone broke there was at least a one-inch gap and he also did significant damage just above the underside of his left elbow.

Emergency evacuation

“The necessary critical care was not available in Lilongwe (Malawi’s capital city), there were just a few small clinics. There were no facilities available to deal with either the surgery needed to set the bones properly or with the potential complications of his injury. It soon became apparent that the only way to treat Jeremy properly was to move him to another hospital.”

Luckily for the Barrs, their International Health and Hospital plan, handled by Bupa International, entitled Jeremy to be evacuated to a more suitable hospital, in this case in Pretoria, South Africa.

Beth recalls that once in Pretoria (they arrived only 12 hours after Jeremy’s accident) the expertise and equipment available could not have been more different to that of the clinic in Malawi: “The care in South Africa was amazing. He was in intensive care for 10 days, then moved to a regular ward for a few days before being discharged. He was very well taken care of throughout. The hospital in South Africa had all the drugs, technology, human resources and skills needed to manage him.”

Effective service

What is more amazing to Beth, as she looks back on their ordeal, is the ease with which all of this was arranged and carried out, often with a minimal amount of input from herself.

“I hadn’t had any pre-approval for anything to do with the medivac or hospitalisation”, she says. “We’d just reacted to the emergency.

“I emailed the Bupa International emergency contact address and left a message briefly explaining what had happened but that I wasn’t sure how to proceed. Ten minutes later I got a phone call from them. I told them where Jeremy was and that I didn’t have any details about the hospital but they said not to worry and that they’d find it all out and send a letter of guarantee for everything – which they did within a couple of hours.”

Understandably, Beth was mentally and physically exhausted. This is where Bupa International stepped in to ensure everything from the relocation from Malawi, through Jeremy’s treatment, right up to the point when he was declared fit enough to leave the hospital, was handled with the utmost sensitivity.

“I wasn’t in any frame of mind to deal with insurance. I was worried because of my experiences living in the USA but when Bupa contacted me shortly after our arrival in South Africa, it was so nice that the first thing they asked was whether Jeremy was okay and how I was doing.

Continued support

“From then on someone called me every few days to find out what stage he was at with his recovery and how much longer he was likely be in hospital. While they obviously needed the information to do their jobs, it was very graciously and personably handled. I can’t tell you how appreciated that was.”

Ultimately Beth believes that Bupa’s ability to be both as unobtrusive as possible and readily available with help, advice or support when needed is what really made a huge difference during her husband’s evacuation and treatment in South Africa.

“Not being made to feel it was all about money made a huge difference”, she says. “And even when Jeremy was released from hospital, someone called again to make sure I had enough money for a hotel and other expenses until we could return to Malawi. I couldn’t believe it!”

Next steps

  • The care and comfort of our members is at the heart of Bupa International's service. However, please note that each of these stories is specific to its facts and the terms of the policy under which the member was insured. No representation is made that similar benefits would apply for members in the same or similar circumstances.