17 June 2024 , 14:39
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The family of a British pensioner claim they are being forced to pay a £40,000 'ransom' to free their father from a Turkish hospital after he fell ill on holiday.
Malcolm Stocker was admitted to hospital in Marmaris with a bad case of an upset stomach two days before the end of a two week holiday. Doctors told the 68 year old's family he was suffering from pneumonia and put him into an induced coma with a medical ventilator for two weeks. He was woken up two weeks ago but remains in hospital.
His son Lee, a 42-year-old taxi driver from Weymouth, has flown out to Marmaris to be with his father. and his daughter, Emma-Jane Stocker, claims the hospital are refusing to release him until the family pay the first half of the £41,000 medical bill he has racked up.
Malcolm Stocker, 68, is stuck in Turkey (Emma-JaneStocker/BNPS)They then face the prospect of paying another £15,000 for a medical flight home. Miss Stocker, a 33-year-old medical secretary, said it feels like her father is being held hostage. She has also slammed the British Embassy in Turkey for 'doing nothing' to help get her father home.
She said: "The hospital are holding him and demanding payment. Everyday they have him the bill goes up. It is like they are holding him hostage and won't release him until the first £20,000 is paid. The bill is currently £41,000 but they won't give us an itemised bill or any paperwork. It seems like it is all made up."
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She questioned whether the hospital has kept her father for longer than is necessary to increase the costs. She added: "He was taken to hospital on May 19 after suffering from an upset stomach which is quite common abroad. We were then told by the hospital that he was severely dehydrated and had pneumonia and needed to be put into a coma.
"Although he has been out of the come for two weeks he is making no sense and is very drowsy still. We are worried sick about his health, we don't know what drugs they are giving him and whether they are treating him correctly.
"The British Embassy haven't been any help to us, all they have suggested is for us to set up a GoFundMe page to raise the money. He is a British citizen being held in a hospital. I can't believe they can't do anything. My brother and I are working class people. We don't own our homes and so can't release any equity to pay the bill."
Mr Stocker, a retired pub landlord from Weymouth who now lives in Exmouth, Devon, went on the two week holiday with his partner Jane Morton on May 7. Because he had pre-existing medical issues he was not able to get travel insurance.
Miss Stocker said: "We know he shouldn't have gone and we can't be held accountable for his choice but he is our dad and we need to do everything we can to get him home." The Foreign Office has been contacted for comment.