Medivac to access first world medical facilities

If you have employees stationed abroad, are you confident you’ve got their backs in the event of a medical emergency?

As John Cambridge* discovered, having access to the right treatment and medical care can be life-saving.

Medical situations can escalate quickly. And when you’re working abroad, events can be further complicated by remoteness and varying medical facility capability.

John Cambridge (56) was working in the Solomon Islands as an operations manager when he started to feel unwell. He visited a local medical clinic where staff immediately suspected something more severe – possibly infectious gastroenteritis, appendicitis or even an acute abdominal rupture – all of which can be life threatening and require immediate medical care.

However, due to the lack of diagnostic imaging equipment on the island, such as ultrasound, MRI or CT scan, they weren’t able to fully diagnose his condition. 

Support when you need it

Because John was insured under an AHI Expatriate Medical Expenses policy, he called his broker for assistance. The Broker contacted AHI Assist, which has trained medical staff on hand 24 hours a day, seven days a week. After speaking to his attending doctor in the Solomons, the decision was made to medivac John to Australia.

The Broker said, “it was quite a stressful situation, not only for John but for me as well. But after calling the AHI Assist team, I was able to breathe a sigh of relief knowing they had the situation under control.”

Within hours, John was back on home soil, where he underwent emergency abdominal surgery to treat an acute and inflamed gall bladder. Following surgery, AHI provided hotel accommodation while he recovered, before flying him back to the Solomon Islands to re-join his family.

Protecting what matters most John’s claim totalled $57,000, including all medical care, flights and accommodation. Without the right cover, getting employees the medical attention they need can be both difficult and extremely costly, especially if repatriation is required.

With more than 25 years’ experience focusing solely on accident and health insurance, AHI’s claims team are well respected for providing market-leading health cover.

“Based on this claim, I will continue to broker the AHI Expatriate Medical Expenses cover to my clients,” the Broker says. “It’s now tried and tested and has far exceeded my expectations. AHI provided expert care and attention to our client, and the claim process was dealt with in an exceptionally professional and timely manner.”