Medical Emergencies

[paul357]

After spending 2 hours in A&E (ER) yesterday with my 3 year old daughter (one and a half inch cut on her head from a park slide), I thought about our trip to florida, and what we would do in an emergency.

I think it would be a good idea to know the location of Hospital Emergency Rooms in the Orlando Area, and the location of walk in medical centres for non emergency treatment. Does anybody know where they all are?

Also would we need to produce our insurance documents before we would get treatment, and it it a good idea to have a credit card with you with plenty of credit to pay, and then claim back later.

What happens if you had nothing with you and you had an emergency situation?

[blott]

Sorry to hear about your daughter and I hope she's better soon.

If you rent a home via a home owner from one of the three OV.com sites, they will normally provide info about the hospitals and medical centers nearest to their home, I know we do. It would be impossible to provide contact info or a list for ALL the hospitals and medical centers as there are a great many of them!

You should always carry your travel insurance documentation around with you as you never know when you're going to need it. Normally you don't get a choice about how this works with payment as your travel insurance usually has a limit (like GBPounds 200-500 - read your policy) under which you're expected to pay, keep all receipts and claim back when you return home. Almost all hospitals and medical centers accept credit cards!

If it's likely to cost more than this, you probably have to contact your travel insurer's emergency phone before authorising treatment and they will then verify that they will be responsible for the costs. If it's a life or death emergency situation, then you need to phone within 24-48 hours to the emergency phone number to let them know what is happening so that they can either arrange further treatment in US or make arrangements to transfer the patient back to the UK.

In your daughter's accident case, note that it would be cheaper to take her to a walk-in medical center rather than a hospital as hospitals are about twice as expensive as medical centers. For small accidents, stitches, etc, etc medical centers are cheaper.

Always read your travel policy documents as soon as you receive them to make yourself familiar with any excluded conditions or their claim procedures for treatment, etc.

[Lyn]

There is walk in clinic on the 192 just past Wal Mart. We used it last year $100 + just to be seen. Very thorough though.

[Newhomebuyer]

My husband was admitted to Celebration Hospital about 3 years ago.
Everything was very efficient including the 'financial consultant' who was soon on the scene when they admitted him. She requested details of our insurance company and a good faith deposit of $400 dollars. My husband had to sign a form, accepting financial responsibility.
He received expert attention and a fabulous room for 3 days for $16000. This money was the total of many separate bills. X rays were one bill, ambulance another, anaesthatist another etc.
If our insurance company had, had a leg to stand on, they would not have paid out. I had to prove everything to them, including the fact that I reported him being admitted to hospital within 24hours.
Keep everything and make sure you notify them as soon as possible should something unforseen occur.

[andy and ann hales]

we as owners have full details of the nearest walk in centre (dentist) and ER along with telephone nos and directions from the house.
There can not be anything worse than being on holiday with a sick child and not know what to do.

[SG]

I had to use the services of a walk in centre a couple of years ago. I telephoned my insurance company first and agreed that I would pay the Doctor's fees on my credit card and claim the money back on my return. I also needed to go to hospital for tests and the hospital billed me once I returned home and I just forwarded these onto the insurance company. It was really very easy and the medical service I received was excellent, not like waiting for hours at an A & E department in the UK!!

[Magical Dreams]

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by andy and ann hales
we as owners have full details of the nearest walk in centre (dentist) and ER along with telephone nos and directions from the house.
There can not be anything worse than being on holiday with a sick child and not know what to do.
[/quote]

Same here!

Has Blottie says, there are many available in the local area to most communities!

Always read the manual supplied with your villa to familiarise yourself with the amenities close by.

[paul357]

Thanks, it sounds like the best thing to do would be to locate 192 so that I know where it is.

I'm glad to hear that there are to many to list. Theres only only one A&E covering 5 local towns in my area!

I'll make sure that I carry the insurance details with me, and the terms and conditions. To be honest I would pay any amount if my child was sick, but I want the reassurance that there would be no delay while any finances were sorted. I don't usually go anywhere without plastic in the US so we should be ok then!

[Magical Dreams]

We are lucky in Pontefract, as we have our own General Hospital & A&E, only 2 mins away!
[msnembarrased]

My 3 y/o was ill in Florida last year and my insurance company (British Airways Exc Club Ins) sent a Doctor to the villa, they were fantastic.

One thing I would say is don't just go for the cheapest ins, check the policy for medical cover - mine is unlimited but many are not, also make sure you declare any medical conditions not matter how small when you take out the policy, and take all the policy details (make copies and keep in different places just in case you lose them) with you.

But most importanly once you have done all that relax and enjoy your holiday[msnwink]