Well there is always the UK NHS, free at the point of delivery once you have sat on a trolley for X hours.
Teasing of course Adrian, but glad you were not hurt far worse.
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The UK Govt site gives comprehensive advice on foreign travel, but many folk seem to forget to check it…
This is just some of what they say about France:
Health
Before you travel check that:
- your destination can provide the healthcare you may need
- you have appropriate travel insurance for local treatment or unexpected medical evacuation
State healthcare in France is not always free. Treatment is on the same basis as for French citizens.
A GHIC or EHIC is not an alternative to travel insurance. You may have costs your GHIC or EHIC does not cover, including:
- changes to travel and accommodation bookings
- additional standard costs for treatment
- medical repatriation to the UK
- treatment that is ruled non-urgent
- private healthcare
- private clinics
here’s the link, just tap in whichever country… 
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NHS hospitals have been able to do so for many years but most can’t/couldn’t be bothered with the paperwork! My local NHS A&E (a major trauma centre) has been charging foreigners in accordance with the NHS guidance for the last 20 years or so.
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I have possibly missed the point here, or (as is not unusual) have misunderstood something - but every time I’ve bought travel insurance there has been medical cover.
However the insurer isn’t going to pay out for everything, just what is not covered by your E/G HIC
(assuming UK resident travelling out of the UK).
It’s France, so that number was either reached after a team conducted extensive research or it was 5 minutes to lunch and that was the first number that looked okay.
“Good enough for Government work” vibe.
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How the heck do they expect one to predict that Stella?
I think I might have a heart attack next week in Budapest 
Or perhaps a spot of alcohol poisoning in Torremolinos.
On a more serious note, do remember to inform the travel insurance providers (recognised as the most disreputable end of the insurance industry) of any pre-existing conditions.
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Common sense? Do not go to the Namibian dessert if you need weekly dialysis fir example.
Yes, I agree, it’s only bloody common sense 
I’m sure anybody who’s on dialysis knows exactly where they can and cannot go.
Actually I know Namibia very well. I’ve been there many times including to the highest dune, Dune 7 near Walvis Bay. The first time we were there back in 1995 we visited the ghost town Kolmanskop which, if my memory serves me well, had the first radiography machine in Africa. So high tech medicine lurks in strange places 
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Presumably, if one has “a condition” the UK Govt are suggesting the one checks the Information available on whichever country one is thinking of visiting…
This is UK Govt advice, not my own, but it does seem to make sense to enquire beforehand and find out something about the country one thinks of visiting… 
Exactly Stella, bloody obvious🤭
The charge seems to be the recently introduced fee for visiting Urgence in France. However, I thought if you were actually admitted for treatment it is not applicable. Maybe as you were simply treated there & then it still the charge still applies to you. Such charges have been contemplated in NHS Accident & Emergency hospitals.
‘Actually I know Namibia very well.’
John, your post made me look up Swakopmund (too long an explanation for why).
Anyhow in the middle of Tripadvisor’s recommendations of where to stay and what to do there, there’s a UK government ad for ‘Discover Newcastle upon Tyne’!
Apropos Namibia and SA - Obie Oberholzer, one of my former staff at Rhodes travelled from the Cape to Cairo on his sabbatical and produced a great book of stunning large photos of Namibia, SA and all points north. He was/is? the go to guy for lushly photographing Africa and I think you’d enjoy the book. There a cheap used copy at:
https://www.biblio.com/book/beyond-bagamoyo-journey-cape-cairo-oberholzer/d/874983942
I considered it twenty or so years ago Mark. I did a load of research and even selected a vehicle (Hilux) and would have pulled the trigger but then wars broke out. I would have loved to have done it 
Thanks for the book recommendation, I’ll order it expedited as soon as I’m back home
The link to Newcastle is a bit bizarre.
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Obie did his trip in '96 with an early, very expensive sat nav. I think he had a Hi-lux and a Kombi. The Kombi had a large metal ammunition box welded to the floor where he stored all his photo gear. He’s also been the photographer for most of Land Rover’s African stuff. Also an infuriating guy to have on your staff, exasperated by him, but liked him, one of a kind - old school.
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As a matter of interest, the charge for a visit aux Urgences has been in place since 2022.
Of course, various exemptions do apply… visits related to Pregnancy, ALD etc are free.
For the rest of us, if one has a Mutuelle, they’ll normally pay it… if not, it’s down to the patient.
I had a Toyota Hilux SUV when I lived in Turks & Caicos - excellent vehicle - high ground clearance was helpful on the dirt roads there which only got graded once a year!
It was an import from Japan (RHD) and had a Bob Marley sticker in the back window, which I thought was a good omen.
Unfortunately it developed an engine problem which required a new top end to fix, and the parts were unobtainable except by having them shipped from the UK, which was uneconomic.
The poor girl sat in my garage bloke’s yard for a year until some Haitian guy took a fancy to it and offered a thousand bucks for her!
That was unfortunate. They are very simple, very strong and generally unbreakable and within the scope of village workshops. One of the top choices for vehicle based expeditions, as they say 
That’s why we see them all over war zones, often with a high calibre weapon on the back platform.
Others to consider would be Land Cruisers, Nissan Patrols and, perhaps, just perhaps, a Mitsubishi Pajero. Despite their butch advertising, nothing from JLR most certainly, unless you want to die Though old Defenders are very popular in game parks.
I saw an old Defender tarted up by this crowd the other day. It looked nice, but I wouldn’t take it anywhere remote.
Health insurers, travel or stationary are notoriously evasive. Possibly because they deal with organic matter unlike, say, cars.
All private, including travel insurers regard me as a walking time bomb since having the subarachnoid haemorrhage of a cerebral aneurysm.
Honestly, looking at the state of the UK NHS and as no private insurer will cover me, for the foreseeable future I am happier putting my time bomb in the care of the excellent public healthcare in France.
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After fortyish years of using a certain firm for travel insurance, for the first time ever I actually made a small claim against them last year. They refused to pay. I pursued it vigorously, more because I don’t want to end up with a major claim which they may not pay. So I want a definitive ruling as whether their sales team or claims team interpretation of what is covered is correct. Both teams use what is IMO ambiguous language. After they repeatedly shrugged me off I reported them to the Financial Services Ombudsman who was very responsive and spent about eight months corresponding with them and reverting to me for my position. We gave it a good rattle and then they finally dug their heels in, so I’ve referred it for adjudication. By the time it’s finished they will have spent many multiples of my claim amount in fighting it 
Anyway, that’s the background as to why I know a bit more about travel insurers than any sensible person would ever want to. During the battle I researched the industry. I found a very interesting EU document that explained that most are dodgy and some are just scams. They pay up to 80% of the premium as marketing costs to encourage other companies, airlines, booking companies, etc. to push their products. That only leaves 20% to run the business and pay claims. Obviously they fight claims tooth and nail. The document, though I don’t remember all the details now, implied that EU legislation would be introduced to soften these scammers cough. However I think the document was dated 2016 or 18 and there doesn’t seem to have been any progress.
Also, when I mentioned travel insurance companies to a pal of mine, who’s a retired CEO of a major insurance company, he just raised his eyes to Heaven They are well known.
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Well those million pound homes wont pay for themselves! I remember way back a travel insurer wouldnt pay out because the hospital started resus before they were advised so they refused to pay out, cost the husband 46,000 for the US hospital bill. I mean you’d stop resus so you could call an insurer wouldnt you.
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