Saleh Al-Mallah, a Syrian MP, was seriously hurt in a car crash and airlifted more than 2,400 km to a specialist hospital for life-saving treatment – thanks to his international health insurance cover with Bupa.
Saleh Al-Mallah suffered severe spinal injuries in an accident in Syria. He was taken to a local hospital in Aleppo, but doctors there decided he needed to be transferred to a facility in Karlsbad, Germany, which has an internationally-renowned spinal treatment centre.
Twenty-four hour international medical support
Bupa’s agent in Cyprus, Nicos Rossos Insurance Agencies, was alerted to the case and arranged the move with international customer service people in the UK and the business’ emergency assistance service. The case was handled from by a senior healthcare consultant in Cyprus. An air ambulance plane with a doctor and nurse on board was dispatched to Syria and flew Al-Mallah to a hospital in Germany. He underwent surgery there within hours of arrival and is now recovering well.
Quick to act
In a letter to Bupa, the MP praised the company for "reacting immediately" to his evacuation needs. He said the local authorities in Syria had "greatly appreciated the way that Bupa treats its members". Al-Mallah wrote: "I would like to thank Bupa’s agent in Cyprus for what they did to speed up the formalities of my evacuation, as well as customer service staff in the UK and International SOS."
Harris Antoniades, managing director of Nicos Rossos, said: "I really felt proud of how well the Bupa team handled the case. Our member received the best possible treatment, in the best possible hospital. We made sure that Bupa was there when it really mattered."
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