British pub owner ordered to pay £25,000 to be released from Turkish hospital where he was ‘held hostage’ after falling ill on holiday without any insurance

A retired pub landlord who was held hostage by a Turkish hospital for weeks after falling ill while on holiday without insurance has been ordered to pay £25,000 to be allowed to return home.

Malcolm Stocker, 68, suffered from stomach problems two days before the end of a two-week trip to Marmaris with his girlfriend Jane.

He was admitted to Ahu Hospital, where doctors diagnosed him with pneumonia. They kept him in an induced coma with ventilation for two weeks.

But when the grandfather recovered, the hospital refused to discharge him until his family paid the first half of the £49,000 medical bill they claimed he had incurred.

His distraught children said they had managed to reduce the bill to £25,000 by hiring a lawyer and started a fundraising campaign to help pay the ‘exorbitant’ sum.

It raised more than £17,000, with the family footing the rest of the bill. After more than a month of ‘hell’, Mr Stocker is now home in Exmouth, Devon.

His son Lee, 42, said: “It’s a huge relief for Dad to be back home. It was an absolute nightmare not knowing what was going to happen from one day to the next.

‘The cost is just ridiculous, it feels like the hospital is just making things up. I got a solicitor and he took it from £49,000 to £25,000.

‘It’s usury. They say that the hospitals there like to charge foreigners five times as much, I don’t understand how they get away with it.’

“Everyone who has donated has been absolutely amazing. Without all the help and support from the people who have donated, we wouldn’t be here right now.”

Mr Stocker’s daughter, Emma-Jane, also thanked the donors, saying that without their help her father would still be in Turkey.

The 33-year-old added that her father is now home and recovering, but is awaiting tests to determine if he is in good health.

Mr Stocker and his partner flew to Turkey on 7 May for a two-week holiday.

Due to several pre-existing conditions, he was denied health insurance for the trip, but he decided to go anyway, knowing he had no emergency coverage.

Just two days before he was due to fly home, Mr Stocker fell ill with a stomach virus and was admitted to hospital on May 19.

He was severely dehydrated and His sodium and potassium levels were found to be dangerously low.

A chest x-ray revealed he had pneumonia. He was placed in a medically induced coma and intubated for two weeks before being taken out.

Then his family was informed about the mounting medical bills.

Emma-Jane said she had heard reports of other foreign patients being unnecessarily sedated in Turkish hospitals to increase medical bills.

She said during their ordeal: ‘It’s like they’re holding him hostage and won’t release him until the first £20,000 is paid. They don’t give us an itemised bill or any paperwork. It’s like it’s all made up.’

Mrs Stocker, who works as a medical secretary, flew with her older sister Kerry-Ann, 37, to visit her father.

She said few staff at the hospital spoke English and they had no access to his doctors.

Lee, a taxi driver from Weymouth, was determined to stay with his father and spent six and a half weeks with him in Turkey. His employer Weyline kindly paid for his hotel.

After his return flight to Britain, Malcolm made a stopover at Dorset County Hospital in Dorchester for a check-up before returning to his home in Exmouth.

Lee added: ‘Dad is doing well. He is still unwell and struggling with his mobility after seven weeks in bed.

‘He still has a long way to go and we are making doctor appointments for blood tests and such to find out exactly what is going on.

“It was a headache, but we are so glad to be home.”

Emma-Jane said: ‘If anything comes of it, we hope it will raise awareness.

‘Please never travel without insurance and never get into this situation. Save yourself weeks of hell and struggle!’

MailOnline has contacted Ahu Hospital for comment.