Returning to the UK with a Tropical Disease - WHAT TO DO!

Article by guest author Peter Brooker

The NHS is really a lot worse than we thought. And not only that, but private health care is also in the toilet. I wanted to share an experience I had regarding Tropical Diseases. I wish I knew this before wasting numerous hours on hold with my local GP and NHS.

As you may be reading this with symptoms of Malaria or some other tropical disease, I will front load the story with the best option for you. The Hospital For Tropical Diseases in London. The contact number is on the website.

The story

My wife came back from the Republic of Congo, not the Congo. The Republic of Congo and the Congo are two separate places. Her first day back in the UK, she felt fine. She showed me some mosquito bites on her ankles, well over 10, but she was not unwell. The Second day, she was feeling unwell in the evening and was sweating profusely through the night. She had a high temperature, 37, 38. Although we'd later learn this is not a high temperature. Still she was deeply unwell, could not get out of bed and her skin hurt. And we knew we were in trouble.

First port of call was to scour the high street pharmacies for malaria kits. A complete waste of time, no Pharmacy will stock one, nor order one. I was told to go away and call 111. An eavesdropping customer even told me I need to go to A&E.

Back home we started by calling the local GP, who then told you that you need to fill out a form online to book an appointment. The form online sends you around in circles because not only does it time out, you also need to know your NHS number. Who knows their NHS number? Where the f**k is that stored? Who files that? No one knows, but it turns out that you don't need it. Because when you phone up your GP the receptionist tells you the NHS number is optional (even though it doesn't say that on the form).

We're told to fill in generic details, just your name, and just say you need a general health appointment. We're told we might be able to get an appointment that day, not good enough for us.

Dialling 111

We called 111, and the person said they'd reach out to the GP on our behalf. By the time the GP called us back it was later in the afternoon and we had already found the Tropical Disease Hospital. So too little too late.

Private Health Care

We didn't want to hang around with a potentially life threatening disease. So we tried to get a private appointment with AXA health booked. But the APP is also broken. When you log into the app it just goes in circle so you never get to your video appointment.

AXA health finally replied at 10 o'clock that night, with a very tedious email of how to go through drop down menus on an online form. I've included my wife's reply at the bottom. Needless to say we will be finding another private health care company.

The Hospital For Tropical Diseases in London

In the end, we had a friend who recommended The Hospital For Tropical Diseases in London located just near Tottenham. We called them up and they took some notes, and they said, you have to go fill out a form online, two more forms. So we did, filled out two forms and then waited for the call back. A couple of hours passed, I then called them again, pressing them into an appointment slot.

They call back shortly after, my wife has to go through a questionnaire again, one more time. Finally they told us to come in for testing. They took my wife's blood, and we sat and waited in a room for two hours whilst they examined the blood for any diseases. They eventually cleared my wife saying she didn't have malaria. We still have to wait a further 3 weeks to see the results of the other tests on the blood.

anyway, from this day to three weeks from now, when they all have results.

But they gave you the blood results of malaria. We just ruled out malaria. They just ruled out malaria, but nothing else, nothing else. They ruled it out, but at least it's not malaria. And they gave you any tablets.

Tablets

My wife did take Malarone before going out to the Republic of Congo, and is finishing her course. You can buy these from Superdrug or any other Pharmacy.

What other countries can you get malaria from?

In the Republic of Congo, the number one killer is AIDS, Heart Disease then Malaria. Malaria is common in many more African countries as well as Asia and some Latin American countries.

Dengue Fever, M Pox, Yellow Fever and Rabies are all still a thing and you should research what jabs/vaccines each country requires before entering, and also what pre and post medication you can take. But having the number for The Hospital For Tropical Diseases in London in your phone is a must.

My wife replied to AXA Health.

Wow! How about a prime example of a “no response response” from a firm that 1. had its system down on Sunday ( confirmed to me by a doctor who said she got multiple complaints on the day and had to phone directly), 2. today (example attached). Then 3 - cancels my appointment and informs me 4 (four) hours later. Then 4 - teaches me what is an emergency (this happens 10 hours after the appointment is cancelled) and what’s not and finally 5. Explains how to book appointments? As if I had not booked them before?

Photo by Vladimir Shevtsov on Unsplash