Charles Taylor Assistance in action

An SOS from the Caribbean

The situationThe Caribbean island of Tortola . . . An insurance professional working on Tortola in the wake of its worst ever hurricane was suffering from severe chest pains. Knowing he needed urgent medical help and fearing he may be having a heart attack, he activated the SOS function on his Charles Taylor Assistance app.

The challengesThe hurricane had caused catastrophic devastation; leaving Tortola with no power, no public transport in or out of the island and no emergency services. The hospital would be hard to reach and, to make matters worse, the island was under martial law, a storm was brewing and the airport was about to be closed.

The solutionCharles Taylor’s SOS function connected the sick man immediately to a comforting voice at its UK assistance centre. Within minutes, a close protection officer was on his way to the man’s hotel room – and it wasn’t long before he had driven him to the local hospital, arranged immediate admission and put him in the safe hands of doctors.

Meanwhile, the Charles Taylor medical team back in the UK was monitoring the man’s care closely; ensuring that he was assessed over the phone by its chief medical officer and that all hospital bills were covered. Then, after a day of comprehensive tests and treatment, he was given the all-clear to be discharged.

The next challenge was to move the man from the island and repatriate him back to the UK. Once the threat of the impending storm had passed, the Charles Taylor team had him on board a specialist air ambulance bound for Antigua, accompanied by a highly-skilled medical escort and all the necessary precautionary medical supplies. From there, he was transferred smoothly to a commercial flight back to the UK.

The outcomeAs advised by Charles Taylor’s chief medical officer, the man visited his doctor in the UK and was given a clean bill of health.

Of his experience, he says, “I was a long way from home in a disaster area, and it was really good to have the back-up and comfort of an operations centre in the UK. I knew I could activate the SOS button at any time – and that Charles Taylor would assist me.

“ They acted as a lifeline – and made things happen in a very anxious situation.