Is this med evacuation normal?

[pilar]

I was reading the Uganda hunter killed thread and was thinking is this normal
“”
Uganda Wildlife Safaris immediately made a call to a Medivac Company in Uganda. The charter company was ready to fly. However, it took time to get the Beechcraft and Medical
team ready. The paramedic side demanded for a 7,500$ payment before they would come.
The payment was also done immediately.””

I have the insurance policy to med evac and global rescue, and have used the air ambulance policy twice before
And I was disappointed that a law enforcement officer must 1st arrive then call for a ground ambulance, who then notified the air ambulance service after they arrived
Same with the coast guard, they dispatched a helicopter with a medical team and then had an ambulance meet at the helicopter pad who then called the air ambulance service for the guy .
Seems like such a delayed timeline for an emergency and a long flawed process.
The more remote it seems to be worse

 

[BRICKBURN]

Seems like such a delayed timeline for an emergency and a long flawed process.
The more remote it seems to be worse

At a hospital in RSA I provided a credit card to address all expenses for a friend that needed care.
The staff still required payment in cash before every test. The delays it caused were a royal pain in the ass. Thankfully, it was not immediately life threatening.
Thankfully, we were able to get him ambulatory and on a regular flight home the next day.

If it were life threatening I would have been pretty perturbed to say the least.

The inherent evacuation delay (situation) should give you pause when you are in the middle of no where. You are in the wilderness.

 

[Letzhunt]

Hopefully someone with Global Rescue or another program can address this here. It makes you wonder for sure how well even the best protection can really be if involves Governments such as in RSA. Never heard anyone say anything good about how things run over there. Normally it's either patience or money that gets you through but in cases of medical emergency who can wait for either?

 

[375Fox]

It’s unfortunately the standard. Medical services will be paid up front. There are unfortunately a lot more people in Africa that need medical services than those that can afford it. Unfortunately also, people that have the means to pay their bills don’t always do it. Harsh reality but someone’s business is likely a lot more important than an individual they don’t know.

I’d expect a company like global rescue already has arrangements pre-made.

 

[bakerb]

I don’t know if it’s standard. I don’t know enough about it. However, when I hunted in Botswana with Tholo in 2023, there was a medivac service out of Maun that I understood sorta had a subscription service kinda like Lifelight Eagle in the Midwest US.

One of their trackers was bit by a mamba during the hunt, and I understood they had this medivac service ready to fly him to Gaborone, and he passed before they could do it. I don’t know if they had to front money or not. . . .

 

[375Fox]

I don’t know if it’s standard. I don’t know enough about it. However, when I hunted in Botswana with Tholo in 2023, there was a medivac service out of Maun that I understood sorta had a subscription service kinda like Lifelight Eagle in the Midwest US.

One of their trackers was bit by a mamba during the hunt, and I understood they had this medivac service ready to fly him to Gaborone, and he passed before they could do it. I don’t know if they had to front money or not. . . .

If it’s a subscription service they were already paying or had payment arranged.

 

[WyoBull]

I purchase the Global Rescue policy whenever I travel international but have never had to use it. What I don't know, and shame on me for not knowing, it exactly when that policy kicks in should it be needed.

 

[towserthemouser]

I'm planning to purchase a policy soon. Would love to hear the Global Rescue folks chime in here. I know they are sponsors on this website, which we all appreciate.

I did briefly peruse the terms of service on their website. There are an awful lot of reasons they can deny service. Things like having an infectious or communicable disease (makes you think twice in the COVID era). Pre-existing conditions for which they can say you should have sought attention before traveling. Self-inflicted conditions, and conditions related to alcohol and/or drug use. Or if they determine it's not safe to get you out..... Et cetera.

They also have a clause excluding service in cases where:

"The condition occurred while or resulted from serving as an armed or unarmed combatant or in a security role during an act of declared or undeclared war, invasion, armed conflict, police action, or civil disorder." I could envision getting into some sketchy situation in a third world country, needing to defend yourself, and then having this clause activated to deny services. Especially if you got into some sort of local legal entanglements as a result of defending yourself...... Obviously an unlikely situation, and one to be avoided. But it does make you think.

I don't know if there are other good alternative services that I should consider. I think I'll read the terms carefully for any of them.