Family of British teacher, 56, who is being forced to pay £500 a DAY just to keep him fed and washed in Chinese hospital where he caught severe lung infection launch desperate £90,000 funding bid to fly him home
- EXCLUSIVE: Mark Poole from Burnley moved to China to teach students English
- But the 56-year-old was taken to hospital after suffering a seizure last October
- Caught a severe lung infection on the ward and is now stuck in hospital in China
- Mr Poole’s family are draining their pension pots to pay thousands for his care
A desperate family are being forced to pay hundreds of pounds a day to look after a British father who is stuck in a Chinese hospital.
Mark Poole, from Burnley in Lancashire, moved to China several years ago to pursue a career in teaching.
But shortly before Christmas the 56-year-old was taken to hospital after experiencing a severe seizure which left him in a coma.
While his treatment is covered by health insurance, Mr Poole’s daughter Danielle, 32, says the family are having to pay £500 a day for someone to feed and wash him because nursing staff are not provided in the hospital.
Danielle Poole with her father Mark, who has been hospitalised in China
The 56-year-old teacher was taken to hospital after experiencing a severe seizure which left him in a coma
The English teacher will require three separate doctors to help him fly back to the UK.
Ms Poole said: ‘We are frantically planning to get my Dad back to the UK and our only option so far is to have him flown on a commercial flight with a flight medic in first or business class to allow him to lie down – this is going to cost approximately £90,000.
‘The closest airport that has flights to the UK is in Hong Kong. So he will require a flight to Hong Kong first.
‘Then he will fly from Hong Kong to Germany, then from Germany to Manchester.
‘Because of the COVID restrictions and regulations the trip will require three separate flight medics, as each medic cannot fly into one country and then out again.
‘They’ll also be required to self-isolate for two weeks, hence the extortionate costs.’
Ms Poole said her grandparents have spent some £9,000 of their pension to cover basic care provisions
The English teacher will require three separate doctors to help him fly back to the UK
Ms Poole said her grandparents have spent some £9,000 of their pension to cover basic care provisions.
The 32-year-old added: ‘Everything I hear is literal Chinese whispers – a doctor says one thing, it gets passed down the grapevine until it gets to someone at the hospital who speaks English, then to my gran, then to me.
‘We’ve got no idea how he’s really doing. The hospital wouldn’t tell us if the care they were giving him was substandard, and he’s not well enough to talk on the phone.
‘All we know is that he went in after suffering a seizure in October, and then contracted some kind of infection in hospital.
‘They say it’s not coronavirus, but whatever it is, he spent ages in a coma and only came off the ventilator a few weeks ago.
‘It breaks my heart to see him like this. I just want my dad home, I want to give him a hug and tell him I love him.
‘The idea of him getting worse terrifies me – it’ll cost £90,000 just to get him home, and it’ll be a lot more if his condition deteriorates.’
The family have launched a GoFundMe page to get Mr Poole home, with nearly £5,000 raised so far.