Philiptigerrice wrote:Also - I'll tell you a little tale.
20 something years ago, I worked as an Army Medic in the Balkans. I did three tours of duty there. Some good bits, and some tough bits.
One of the tours I did, I spent many months manning ambulance crews from Croatia, up a main supply route, and into Bosnia itself.
Much of the pre-hospital work I did in that time, was picking up Civvy RTA's and taking them to Croatian Hospitals.
The hospitals were pretty shocking back then.
Roll on a few decades.... Croatia is now a fully paid up EU Member State. There has been enormous investment poured into the country.
In return they are meeting all of the EU standards and hope to join the Euro Currency Zone soon.
Now - I took my wife and two children there a few weeks ago, for a week in the Sun.
The resort we stayed at was a 4 star resort, a new build, fully checked, meets all EU standards etc and they are very keen to point all that out.
Long story short - because they fucking don't bother with any of those EU standards my 8 year old daughter was impaled on a metal spike, using the swimming pool ladders.
She's very lucky not to have been killed. As it was it took 24 sutures internal and external to close her chest up, and she was in plaster for weeks, as she kicked so hard to get of the spike, she broke several bones in her foot. The only reason she didn't lose a lung, was because she is eight and bendy, and her ribs bent out of the way, forcing the spike up under her skin, from her hip, to her arm pit.
The hotel response was woeful. No first aiders, no first aid kit, no phone, no ambulance for an hour. Have they passed the EU standard inspections?
Yes. And they have a Cert to prove it. Absolute bullshit. Money is changing hands. EU Standards my Arse.
Eventually we get an ambulance, and despite having her in date E111/EHIC Card on us and a Gold Travel Insurance Policy from Virgin Money - were made to hand over wads of bloodied paper money before they'd let us out of the ambulance.
In the hospital - I almost froze - despite MASSIVE capital investment in the health system from the EU - absolutely nothing looked any different since the 1990's, and the facilities were shocking back then.
The Rep who came with us, was ashamed - there's a new hospital "being built" with EU money, except, the money ran out 2 years ago - they never got past the foundations. It all just disappeared.
Her treatment was so poor, it essentially had to be undone when we flew her home. She's had a number of procedures done in the UK and will need surgery when she is older to correct the cosmetic fucking mess it has left behind on her chest.
Despite having a massive chest wound, they decided not to do a chest x-ray. I was livid!
Next day we get called down for one.... but have to pay for it. Turns out - we paid to have it repaired.
EU standards my arse.
E111/EHIC, my Arse.
Oh - and then there's the insurance policy.
Turns out - Virgin use a Spanish Company called MAPFRE.
Avoid them like the plague.
They dithered so much about whether we should take her home, I said I'd arrange it myself if needs be - and claim retrospectively. They agreed.
So we flew her home.
Then claimed.
They've fucked us off. Despite Professor Simon Carley of Royal Manchester Childrens Hospital agreeing 1000% that we needed to get out of there and sort her out properly - they disagree with him - what would he know, he's just one of the most eminent professors of Peadiatric Emergency Care - in the world.
Spoken to our solicitor who absolutely agrees we have a breach of contract case - but - nobody wants to take it on - because they're based in Spain.
He's had people try and take them on again and again - but they're hidden behind Spanish Law, almost never pay out - and know they can't be touched without an army of specialist barristers. Good old EU, my arse!
The only reason we have any protection at all, is due to a nice bit of UK Law, the Package Holiday Regs 1992, which mean that Jet2Holidays are the duty Holders and should have ensured it was safe.
So we're underway with a case against them.
When I asked the Solicitor, a specialist about the EHIC stuff - he just shrugged - they're great in the major nations - but head south or east and and they often just get ignored. Money talks.
So like much of the EU - Croatia is taking all the money,spunking much of it up the wall, and offering pretty much nothing in return.
Brussels will never really go and Audit where the money is gone - and if they do - they'll never publish the results - its too embarrassing - and still they want us to keep paying out for it all.
