The Golden Daffodil Foundation helps prepare patients for what they would encounter abroad.

Being told you are suffering from a serious illness which requires specialised treatment abroad is only the first of the hurdles to be vaulted.

Patients and their relatives need to plan and prepare for the entire stay, taking into account not just flights and accommodation, but also a myriad of other particulars, including transport, maps, hospital details and other information.

Enter the Golden Daffodil Foundation, a new NGO set up to provide patients and their relatives with logistical information before travelling overseas, as well as offering them a network of care and support.

Chairman Paul Camilleri, an accountant by profession, had spent six years volunteering with Puttinu Cares – a children’s cancer charity – and was very much involved in the purchase of Puttinu’s first apartments in the UK.

“The Health Department, Puttinu and the Malta Community Chest Fund do an excellent job, however, there’s a perception that they provide you with everything,” the 52-year-old explained.

“The foundation was born in February out of a very tangible need for information felt by patients and their relatives regarding their stay abroad.”

The foundation was born in February out of a very tangible need for information felt by patients and their relatives regarding their stay abroad

The Golden Daffodil Foundation helps prepare patients for what they would encounter abroad. It provides each patient and accompanying relative with a tailor-made booklet, compiling information on the hospital, including maps, hospital admittance procedures and important telephone numbers.

It also provides information regarding available accommodation close to the hospital, and helps put the relative in contact with local organisations which provide accommodation, such as Puttinu and the Franciscan Sisters in London.

It also guides them to register with a local doctor, which is a requirement when the relative is residing in the UK for more than three months.

The booklet includes transport information, maps outlining shops, pharmacies and other essentials, as well as churches and spiritual support.

“We cover 40 hospitals in the UK, but we research and keep ourselves up to date regarding any new hospitals added to the Government’s list. Lately, for instance, there has been an increase in patients being sent to hospitals in Italy,” Mr Camilleri explained.

The foundation also provides moral and emotional support. Every month, a member of the foundation visits the patients abroad.

“Last month, I visited 25 patients in the UK. It’s a very satisfactory feeling – the patients are so appreciative when they see a fellow Maltese visiting them and taking an interest in how they’re feeling,” he smiled.

The foundation also helps speed up the refund procedure from the MCCF. Normally, a patient being funded by the MCCF would amass receipts which he would then hand over to the MCCF at the end of his stay.

“Every month, we collect the receipts and hand them to the MCCF, so that the patients and their relatives can receive the funds as soon as possible.”

It’s also not the first time Mr Camilleri has returned to Malta with the patients’ extra luggage.

The foundation also offers a special service reserved for particular cases. In the event that the patient is elderly, does not understand English or does not have an accompanying relative, the foundation offers to accompany them abroad for the first few days until they settle down.

“Sometimes, there are elderly people who have never been abroad in their lives – they would be completely lost.

“We’re also helping the patient in other ways. The current law states that if you’re just above the minimum wage, the flight ticket would have to be paid by the patient – this definitely needs to be updated.”

Last month there were 25 requests for assistance – a clear indicator of how much this service was needed.

“Ultimately, we want people to know of this service, which is readily available to them should they come in need of it.”

For further information, phone 2131 6751 or visit www.gdfmalta.org.

You can help by giving a donation.  This can be done either by cheque payable to Golden Daffodil Foundation; by bank transfer to the Foundation’s account with HSBC; by sending an SMS; or making a phone call.

SMS donation numbers

​5061 8075 - €4.66
5061 9220 - €11.65
​
Fixed donation number

​5170 2080 - €15.00
​
HSBC account number

Golden Daffodil Foundation  A/C 061 271227 001