‘Hero’ NHS nurse is stuck in a ‘coma-like state’ in Hungary after suffering cardiac arrest

A British NHS nurse is in a ‘coma-like state’ in a hospital in Hungary after suffering cardiac arrest while on holiday.

Kerstie Metcalf’s desperate family is urgently trying to raise £50,000 to bring the 51-year-old home so she can be surrounded by those close to her.

The money would help pay medical bills as the mother of two has been hospitalized since Easter Monday.

It would also cover the cost of an air ambulance, which would be equipped with the necessary breathing equipment and monitoring systems.

The government will not pay Mrs Metcalf, from Benfleet, Essex, to fly home, her family have been told.

The senior wound care nurse – who works in south Essex hospitals including Basildon and Brentwood – has worked for the NHS for the last 30 years of her life

As Ms Metcalf is registered as disabled, she had no private health insurance and found any form of insurance “extremely” difficult to obtain given the “high premiums,” her son Sam Metcalf told MailOnline. Pictured above, Kerstie, Sam and sibling, Bella

Her son Sam, 28, told MailOnline: “The embassy said they couldn’t do anything unless she died.”

Currently, the family has raised £15,000.

“I know times are tough and not everyone has the money to make a huge donation,” Metcalf said.

‘But every donation is welcome and you go a long way.

“Every penny raised brings her one step closer to her return home.”

Ms Metcalf and her fiancé Akos Hasznos, 43, traveled to Pécs in southern Hungary on Good Friday to visit his family.

Although she was registered as disabled and recommended to protect herself once the Covid pandemic broke out, she continued to work. “She said she wanted to do her part,” Mr Metcalf told MailOnline

She was also “looking to retire there as well,” her son said.

But while watching her fiancé – a musician – perform on April 10, she went into cardiac arrest and was resuscitated on the spot.

She was “heavily sedated” by medics and put into “a coma-like state.” to protect her brain.

Doctors believe she suffered irreversible damage from her ordeal.

Her family are now urgently awaiting an official diagnosis in the UK, Mr Metcalf said.

“She was resuscitated at the time and was breathing again. Since then, however, she has been in a coma-like state.’ he added.

Since Mrs. Metcalf is registered disabled, she had no private health insurance.

She found any form of insurance “extremely” difficult to obtain given the “high premiums,” he told MailOnline.

Mr Hasznos, 43, has not left her side in hospital in Hungary since her cardiac arrest.

Mr Metcalf told MailOnline that the family immediately contacted the Foreign Office and their local MP, who advised them to speak to the British Embassy in Hungary.

The hospital in Pécs has been in contact with Southend Hospital.

“She’s got her release papers and there’s a bed here for her when she arranges transportation,” he added.

The senior wound care nurse, who works in south Essex hospitals including Basildon and Brentwood, has worked for the NHS for the last 30 years of her life.

Although she was registered as disabled and recommended to protect herself once the Covid pandemic broke out, she continued to work.

“She said she wanted to do her part,” Mr Metcalf told MailOnline.

Ms. Metcalf’s family wrote on GoFundMe, “Any help or contribution is appreciated more than we can say.

“Let’s get our NHS hero home where she belongs.”