Fears stroke victim will lose Cambodia hospital bed

The son of an Army veteran who suffered a stroke in Cambodia has pleaded with a hospital not to discharge him.

Terry Blake said his father Michael, from Shoeburyness in Essex, had been left paralysed down the right side of his body and unable to speak.

Despite this, he said the hospital in Phnom Penh was planning to end the 66-year-old's care - but had not given a reason for this.

The BBC has contacted Calmette Hospital for comment.

The Blake family said they had been paying the facility $500 (£368) a day for his care since early April.

Terry Blake said it "boggles my mind" that his father may lose his hospital bed, "because at the minute he can't look after himself".

He says he found the expat - who served for 15 years in the British Army and now lives in Cambodia - left in a corridor on a gurney when he flew out to help him at hospital.

"From a translation point of view, it's been very difficult to get a full picture of where he's at and what the next steps are," Terry Blake told Ben Fryer on BBC Essex.

To add to the family's woes, Terry Blake said he does not have any of his father's medical insurance details, and that because of data protection laws, they cannot obtain them from authorities in the country.

He has been trying to arrange for Blake to be repatriated at a cost of up to £35,000 - as first reported by the Southend Echo.

"We're paying for his costs daily just to make sure he receives at least some level of care until we can get him home and into the NHS," said Terry Blake.

He described feeling "exhausted", adding: "Ultimately, I just want him well and want him home.

"I'm overwhelmed but the family are pulling together."

His father toured Bosnia, Belize and Sudan in the Army.

Details shared by the Cambodian government online stated it was reforming its healthcare system with the aim of having universal coverage in place by 2035.

It said there were "long-standing and unwavering efforts" to make care accessible to all.

Do you have a story suggestion for Essex? Contact us below.

Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.