Dubai: A British couple have been left trapped in Dubai after unexpected medical issues left them with a bill allegedly totalling over £11,000. Katriona White and her husband Mick, both 54, were on holiday in the UAE when Katriona fell ill.
She is now unable to walk, and until the hospital bill is paid, the two cannot fly back to India, where White has been employed as a football coach. He asserts that his passport has also been taken by the hospital.
The married couple claims that after their insurance company initially gave them the assurance that they were insured, they would not be compensated for the expenditures due to a "technicality" - that their trip originated in India rather than the UK.
White says he has been paying £18 per month into the policy for the last 12 years, having never made a claim before. On 23 May, Barclays called White to tell him that the couple aren’t insured because their trip hadn’t started in the UK.
“I was just in shock, panicking,” he said. “They said as of now I wasn’t insured and I asked ‘for the whole bill?’, and they said ‘yes’. As far as the hospital was concerned, because I couldn’t pay the bill they were kicking us out.
“I was panicking and anxious for my wife’s health. She wasn’t fit to fly. She still can’t walk. She can’t feel her legs.” In an effort to raise the money necessary to pay off the outstanding obligations, the couple is currently residing in a motel for £20 per night. Having been established, a gofundme website has received a total of £4,725 in donations.