Emergency Paediatric Care in Thailand: “a truly brilliant service.”

Travelling with kids, as one knows, requires a lot of care and attention. If the trip in question is in a faraway country, well known for its natural wonders but perhaps not always equipped with great healthcare facilities, one can never take too many precautions, especially in very remote locations.

This story is about a family from England who are staying in Thailand, where the father works as an instructor during the dive season. They have decided to bring along their nearly one year old daughter. During the trip to Koh Tao, the baby gets sick; she has a fever, cough and difficulty breathing. She’s initially treated with antibiotics and a nebulizer, but there aren't adequate clinics on the island for this type of emergency, and the Thai doctor who they've seen advises them to transfer her to a bigger hospital, equipped for paediatric cases.

Fortunately, all members of the family are DAN Members and covered by the Pro Gold Family plan, valid 365 days a year for dive and non-dive emergencies. The mother calls the DAN hotline, that quickly directs them to the Bangkok Samui Hospital on the island of Koh Samui, giving them information on the ferry transport and reassuring them of the coverage for the costs.

The healthcare personnel at Bangkok Samui Hospital have a long and solid relationship of trust with DAN, and after having seeing the DAN card, they immediately received the little one. The DAN Claims department did their part in asking the hospital for the necessary medical documentation, and they issued a guarantee of payment (GOP) after just a few hours, so the baby's parents could avoid paying upfront for the hospital care. Not only that, but DAN's staff also looked after the baby’s father – who had remained anxiously waiting in Koh Tao, and had difficulty contacting his wife – by giving him constant updates in real time on the conditions of the baby.

DAN and the family kept in contact over the following days, until reaching a happy conclusion: the baby responded well to the treatment and, in the span of four hours, was discharged from the hospital. Yet again, DAN has provided its members with an unparalleled highly professional and personal service.

What a great relief for those parents, dedicated, long-time DAN members. Here is a letter of appreciation from the mother, who wrote us to thank us for the assistance she received:

We have had to claim with DAN Europe 3 times over the last 10 years and have never ever had any problem whatsoever. The staff are extremely helpful and always willing to do whatever they can to help. They stay in contact frequently throughout the entire situation and all medical bills are paid on time, without question. Most recently, my daughter was taken very sick with Pneumonia and as she is covered by my husband's Pro Gold package, she was covered for her entire hospital stay and all medical bills and medication. It was a totally hideous ordeal and without the knowledge that DAN Europe were our insurance company and would deal with everything, it would of made the entire situation so much worse. THANK YOU Dan Europe for a truly brilliant service.