Leicestershire family stuck in Turkey after son breaks leg in holiday pool slip

A family from Leicestershire are stuck in Turkey awaiting repatriation, after their 11-year-old son broke his leg on holiday.

The Kilburns from Bilstone near Market Bosworth, were a few days into a week-long break in Antalya, when Vinnie was hurt.He slipped at the hotel's pool and was rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment.

Despite the family having travel insurance which they believed would have made the situation easier, they say there were a catalogue of problems with Vinnie's care, and he was ultimately discharged.

But when it came to board the easyJet flight back to the UK, he wasn't able to do so.

He needed to fly while on a stretcher, and the plane could only accommodate him in a wheelchair, so he could not board.

Now the family says they are stuck overseas waiting for a suitable flight home.

"Screaming in pain"

Vinnie's dad Tom said: "As soon as Vinnie broke his leg, the holiday ended abruptly."

Tom said Vinnie was left without pain relief until the family's insurance company, Mayday Assistance and Holiday Extras, approved the treatment.

Tom said Vinnie's mum could hear their son "screaming in pain" on the hospital floor above.Tom says: "We were taken to the hospital by ambulance and he had an X-ray to confirm there was a fracture - but he didn't have pain relief the entire time.

"Being a parent, seeing your child go that kind of pain is the worst thing to go through. The hospital refused to give him pain relief until our insurance approved it."

Tom says Vinnie was moved to another hospital by ambulance because the first one "decided he needed a surgery that they couldn't do".

He says: "But even then, we were kept in the ambulance outside the second hospital for an hour while they were waiting for the insurance's approval to clear."He was kept in overnight to see if he needed surgery, but they decided against it and we were told he would be released.

"But we were told that would happen at 10am and we only ended up actually leaving and getting back to our hotel at 7pm."Back at the hotel we could barely move him around because the wheelchair we had just wasn't suitable for him and our room wasn't easily accessible.

"They were very helpful and we moved rooms, but at that point we just wanted to go home and made arrangements with our insurers to fly back to the UK."Tom and his wife, Julie, who are both 47, were told that their son would need to go to another hospital and get his cast reduced down, to allow him to have easier access to a flight home.

But when doctors checked Vinnie's leg, they realised he needed surgery immediately to correct his tibia, putting in metal splints and screws and straighten it and support his broken bones.Vinnie was kept in the hospital for a few more days, with the family having to check out of their original hotel.

They made plans to fly back on Sunday 23rd July.

But after being discharged and waiting for three hours at the airport, the family were told that Vinnie would need to be in a wheelchair for a flight with airline easyJet, rather than the stretcher he was on, as easyJet is unable to have people in stretchers on its flights.Vinnie was given a wheelchair, but the family say it was too small for him and it did not provide enough support for his leg, which had to be propped up with a wet floor sign and pillows, meaning he was unable to fly.The family are now stuck abroad waiting for a suitable wheelchair which can properly support Vinnie's leg and allow him to fly, as well as waiting for a new scheduled flight back to the UK.

"The pitfalls of insurance"

Tom said:

"We feel like things could have and should have been handled a lot better. You take out travel insurance to ensure that if the worst happens you're covered and can depend on receiving the treatment and support you need. But we just feel failed by them."It's a miserable end to what was meant to be a relaxing time away.

"Not only that, but we're desperate to get Vinnie home to get checked over by NHS doctors and ensure his rehabilitation starts as soon as possible."He's a promising rugby and football player and I worry that the longer this drags on, the harder it will be for him to recover.

"But we've been left in limbo, not sure whether we're coming or going.

"It's likely we'll need to get his dressing changed again before we go, too, which means another trip to the hospital."We just want to make people aware and be careful about the pitfalls of insurance as well as the delays and impact it can have on healthcare, especially in Turkey."The family remain in contact with Mayday Assistance and Holiday Extras, and have approached the UK embassy in Turkey for further support.A spokesperson from Holiday Extras said:

“Holiday Extras takes all claims of this nature extremely seriously and has been working with the underwriters of the family’s policy and their medical assistance provider, Mayday Assistance, to find the appropriate solution for this complex case as quickly as possible.”A spokesperson for Mayday Assistance's underwriters said: “We can confirm that Mayday Assistance is in direct communication with the family and is assessing all options for them to return home safely as soon as possible.”A spokesperson for easyJet said:

“We are sorry that Vincent and his family were unable to travel on flight EZY2142 from Antalya to Manchester as we are unable to accept stretchers on board as stated in our medical policy and as was explained to the family’s travel agent.

"The safety and wellbeing of our passengers is our highest priority and we always do everything we can to support passengers who may additional assistance when travelling."We made arrangements for Vincent to have special assistance throughout the airport and during boarding as we were advised by the family’s travel agent that he was able to travel in a wheelchair, however as he would only travel in a stretcher, they were unfortunately unable to travel.”A spokesperson for the Foreign Office said: “We are supporting a British child and their family in Turkey.”