Family stuck with RM250,000 medical bill after father suffers stroke in London

The family of a chief clerk who had suffered a stroke upon arrival in London and warded at a hospital are racing against time to source for donations to pay the hospital bill that has already reached a whopping £46,000 (RM250,000).

Mohamad Sahar Mhd Noor, 57, a chief clerk at the Kolej Kemahiran Tinggi Mara, Negeri Sembilan had arrived in London for his daughter's graduation on July 4 but suffered a stroke 20 minutes after landing.

He was rushed to the Charing Cross Hospital in West London where he has been warded until today with no medical insurance and slapped with an accumulated bill of £46,000 (RM250,000).

According to his daughter, Amirah, currently a postgraduate research student at Brunel University, London, the bill will continue to increase by around £2,000 a day if he remained in the same hospital.

"We would like to bring my father back to Malaysia for treatment, as it would be much cheaper in Malaysia," she said in her Facebook posting.

Checked by Bernama, the family’s plea for help on Facebook and the website reached £35,796 (RM191,668.70) at press time from 1,234 donors who contributed amounts ranging as low as £5.

Amirah said the doctor had given permission to bring her father home on condition that he should be on a stretcher or in a lying position at all times.

As for her father's condition, Amirah said the doctors did a minor operation on July 5, to remove a blood clot inside his father's left-brain and his condition remains critical after the operation.

"Almost 2 weeks Ayah was in coma after the operation, but he showed good progress. Last Wednesday, they did a tracheotomy to help him to breath. Alhamdulillah.

"His condition is stable now and sometimes he can open his eyes just for a while. His blood pressure is under control, but it increases when he gets fever.

"Now they keep monitoring his body temperature for any infection. He was transferred, from ICU to hyper acute stroke unit," she said.