Family in appeal over sick Briton

Social worker Frank Rice, 49, from Wakefield, is unable to breathe for himself as he battles pneumonia in a hospital in the Dominican Republic.

His family and friends are unable to afford his treatment, which is costing $4,000 a day, and have been forced to call for donations to help meet the medical bills.

They say Mr Rice’s travel insurance company has refused to pay for his care because he failed to disclose he was suffering from a lung disease when he bought his holiday cover.

Mr Rice, an Army veteran, travelled to the Caribbean country with his partner Dawn Townsend for a two-week break and the pair were due to return home last Wednesday.

But he was admitted to hospital on October 8 and has been in a serious condition ever since, even having to be resuscitated when doctors attempted to bring him out of a coma.

Mr Rice’s daughter Ashleigh, 19, who has travelled to be with him, told the Yorkshire Post: “They decided to put him to sleep for three days to give his heart a rest so they put him on a ventilator.

“They tried to bring him back round a couple of days ago and he flat-lined. They had to resuscitate him and had to put him back on the ventilator.

“They have tried him on a new medication and we’ve had some positive news because he is responding to that medication, but we are going from day to day not knowing what will happen.”

Mr Rice and Ms Townsend, a fellow social worker, had been staying at a resort in Punta Cana, an area on the country’s east coast famed for its spas, restaurants and casinos.

Miss Rice said she and her brother Jordan, 21, had arrived there on Sunday and joined Ms Townsend and Mr Rice’s brother Jim at his bedside.

She said her father suffered from pulmonary fibrosis, a disease which causes breathing problems as the lungs become scarred and thickened.

Mr Rice and Ms Townsend bought travel insurance before they flew to the Dominican Republic, but made no mention of the disease in their application form because they visited the country last year and found his breathing actually improved during the trip.

“The only thing they didn’t answer was his having pulmonary fibrosis,” Miss Rice said.

“They had come here last year and he had a new lease of life. He expected to come back to that this time.

“But the area has been a lot more humid this year and he ended up getting pneumonia, which is what has put him in hospital.

“The longer he stays here, the more it costs. It is costing about $4,000 a day and we don’t have that kind of money.

“The bill so far is $29,000 because he has been in hospital for a few days now and it’s just building.

“To get him home in the condition he’s in now is going to cost about £100,000, but if we can get him off the ventilator it won’t cost that much.”

More than 200 members of the social networking website Facebook have shown their support by joining a group called “Bring Frank Back Home”.

Several fundraising events are planned, including collections at rugby matches and a sponsored three-legged walk led by one of Ms Townsend’s daughters, Jessica Charlesworth, 16.

Miss Rice said: “Because my father used to be in the Army, my uncle is visiting his local Territorial Army centre to see if they can help us at all.

“My father is also a big fan of the Castleford Tigers rugby team and he used to coach the sport, so we will be appealing to clubs for support.

“We are really thankful for all the help and support and we are just going to keep trying other things.”

Mr Rice’s travel insurance firm, Mondial Assistance, was unable to comment last night.

The Foreign Office advises that the British Embassy or High Commission will not pay medical costs for Britons who are not fully insured while travelling abroad.

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