Travel warning for Brits on weight loss jabs as little-known 'breach' could cost you thousands

British tourists have been warned about a travel insurance issue that could cost them thousands.
'Skinny jabs' such as Ozempic and Mounjaro need to be declared on any official insurance documents.
Niraj Mamtora, director at Forum Insurance, has warned that failing to declare weight management drugs when you take out travel insurance could be considered a breach of contract.
He told Birmingham Live: 'Weight-loss medications are transforming lives across the UK, but too many travellers don't realise the insurance implications.
'If you're using these drugs, you must declare both the medication and the condition it's prescribed for.
'Failure to do so is not a minor oversight - it's a serious breach of your travel insurance contract.'
The expert explained that tourists could see their 'claim refused' and 'policy cancelled' if they don't declare their medication.
Niraj added: 'Non-disclosure is a gamble that's simply not worth taking. If you don't declare your medication or the underlying condition, your insurer is within their rights to refuse any claim, even if it seems unrelated.
'Many travellers only discover too late that their travel insurance claims are rejected, leaving them without support and facing potentially huge bills.'
The warning comes as the firm reports that a 'growing trend' in people using weight-loss jabs could only make insurance issues more likely.
'Carry a copy of your prescription or a doctor's letter when travelling with medication, and check the rules of your destination country regarding bringing in prescription drugs,' advised Niraj.
'Remember that insurance claims related to undeclared conditions or medications can be refused, even if the issue seems unrelated.'

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Daily Mail​

38 minutes ago

• Daily Mail​

Heatwave hell as passengers are 'slow cooked' on stuck trains for hours amid 34C heat - as nation swelters on hottest day of the year

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The operator confirmed on a social media post that their services were facing issues, and have since apologised to the passengers who were affected. They first posted: 'Due to a fault on a train between London Blackfriars and Herne Hill, some lines are blocked. We're working to gather more information on this incident.' They later added that 'services across the network' were 'experiencing significant disruption'. Another passenger said they had been stuck on a 'rammed' service to Brighton between Elephant and Castle and Loughborough Junction which was a medical accident 'waiting to happen'. They also asked why there was 'no air con' or windows that could be opened on the service. In their instructions to stuck passengers, Thameslink posted on X that anyone stuck should not attempt to leave the train. They said: 'If you're stuck on a train which isn't moving, please remain where you are and don't make any attempt to leave the train unless instructed to.' 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With safety our top priority, the safest place was to remain on the trains while we worked our hardest to get help to those on board. 'There is engineering work taking place today, which means this is the only route Thameslink trains can take south out of London and severe disruption is expected for the rest of the afternoon. 'Anyone travelling south of London is currently advised to use Southern services from Victoria but you should check the latest travel advice at 'Passengers delayed by 15 minutes or more are also entitled to compensation, with details on our website.' A British Transport Police spokesperson added: 'Officers were called to Loughborough Junction Railway Station at just before 11am today (June 21) to reports of a train broken down nearby. 'Officers assisted Thameslink and Network Rail and all passengers have been evacuated safely.' The shocking footage has sparked concern as experts at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and Imperial College London used decades of UK data to predict excess mortality during the hot temperatures from Thursday to Sunday. Their study, released on Saturday, forecasted that around 570 people could die due to the heat over the four days. The excess deaths were estimated to peak at 266 on Saturday when the heat will be at its most intense. London was predicted to have the greatest number of excess deaths with 129. The researchers said their assessment highlights how extreme heat poses a growing threat to public health in the UK. Today, Britain is as hot as the likes of Barbados and Corfu and is hotter than Barcelona and Lisbon. But forecasters at the Met Office warned that much of the UK could be soaked as soon as 5pm this evening as the humid aftermath of the heatwave looks set to result in a downpour. This week has already seen thermometers surpass 30C across much of the UK, with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland all recording their warmest days of the year on Friday. But forecasters at the Met Office warned that much of the UK could be soaked as soon as 5pm this evening as the humid aftermath of the heatwave looks set to result in a downpour (Pictured: Commuters squeeze onto a London Underground tube, June 21, 2025) That blistering heat has continued into today, which is the official end of spring, an occasion which was marked at Stonehenge this morning. Thousands of people watched the sunrise over the monument to celebrate the summer solstic e. Those who gathered for the spectacle in Wiltshire braved a warm start to the morning as they marked the year's longest day. Temperatures in Salisbury and Greater London reached 18C by 5am, according to the Met Office. 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Telegraph

41 minutes ago

• Telegraph

NHS sends patients abroad after waiting lists hit record high

The NHS is paying to send rising numbers of British patients abroad for treatment after waiting lists in England hit record highs. The health service is funding treatments across Europe in countries including Poland, Lithuania and the Czech Republic. Treatments being carried out abroad range from routine operations, including hip replacements and cataract operations, to more complex cancer surgery. The number of people having such procedures overseas has jumped by 42 per cent in just two years, The Telegraph can reveal. The Health Secretary described the situation as 'unacceptable', saying a 'broken NHS' had left patients waiting 'far too long for treatment, forcing many to go private or even seek healthcare abroad'. The revelations come as Wes Streeting prepares to publish a 10-year health plan that aims to clear backlogs and reform the way services are delivered. On Friday night, he pledged his plan would 'catapult the NHS into the 21st century and get people seen on time in a modern health service on British shores'. Experts said the rising cases were a 'terrible indictment' of the state of the NHS, with Poland, Germany, Italy and Belgium among the main beneficiaries. Under a little-known post-Brexit healthcare agreement, the NHS will pay another European country to treat UK patients where there is 'undue delay' to them accessing equivalent treatment on the NHS within a 'medically acceptable timeframe'. Patients desperate to have gynaecology surgery and hip replacements were the most likely to get NHS approval to travel overseas for their treatment. Those waiting for cancer treatment, and surgery to repair hernias, remove gallbladders and treat cataracts also fled Britain to get help more quickly, the investigation reveals. The treatment or surgery must be provided by a state healthcare system, not a private clinic, and patients must fund their own travel and accommodation costs. There has been a rapid rise in the number of UK patients using the scheme, as the NHS battles to reduce waiting lists, which peaked in 2023. In the last three years, the NHS has spent £4.32 million sending 352 patients overseas for treatment, according to data from the NHS Business Services Authority, which handles the payments. The number of overseas treatments paid for by the NHS jumped from 99 in 2022-23 to 112 in 2023-24 and rose again to 141 in 2024-25, according to figures obtained by The Telegraph under Freedom of Information laws. Mr Streeting said: 'This Government inherited a broken NHS, with patients left waiting far too long for treatment, forcing many to go private or even seeking healthcare abroad. This is unacceptable and, since day one in office, we have been delivering the investment and reform needed to turn the NHS around. 'We are focused on delivering for patients, so they get the treatment they need, when they need it, closer to home. In less than a year, we've delivered 3.6 million more appointments, cut the waiting list by almost a quarter of a million, and diagnosed an extra 100,000 suspected cancer patients on time. 'There's a long way to go, but we are finally putting the NHS on the road to recovery. 'Our forthcoming 10-year plan will lay out how we catapult the NHS into the 21st century and get people seen on time in a modern health service on British shores.' Dennis Reed, from Silver Voices, said: 'This is a terrible indictment of the state of the NHS. People have to be desperate to think about having hospital treatment in another country, hundreds of miles away. 'It is really worrying and it's also worrying about the inequalities – most of us wouldn't know about this scheme, and many could not afford the travel and hotels, so the vast majority of the population just have to put up with really long waits.' 'Says a lot about pressures on NHS' There are currently 1.4 million people waiting for NHS gynaecology or orthopaedic procedures, including hip replacements, in England. Of these, nearly 43,000 have waited more than a year for treatment since being diagnosed, latest figures for April 2025 show. Siva Anandaciva, director of policy at The King's Fund, said it was 'striking' that more Britons were getting treatment overseas. 'It was only a few years ago that the concerns about medical tourism were that too many people were coming to the UK to seek treatment. It says a lot about the pressures the NHS is under that the concern now is that too many people [from the UK] are seeking treatment overseas,' he said. 'The NHS has made substantial progress in tackling the very longest waits for care that built up before and after the Covid-19 pandemic, but the reality is that it will be several years before national waiting list targets are routinely met again.' Patients were most likely to travel to Poland for treatment, with the NHS paying for 72 procedures to be carried out there between 2022-23 and 2024-25. This was followed by Germany (59 procedures), Italy (32), Belgium (31) and Ireland (26). But the NHS spent the most money on treatments performed in Ireland, which cost around £3.15 million over the last three years. It also spent £224,000 on NHS patients having treatment in Germany; £147,000 on treatments in Poland; £138,000 in Switzerland; £138,000 in Italy; and £134,000 in Austria. Payment figures were recorded by the NHS in the local currency and converted to pound sterling by The Telegraph based on currency exchange rates at the time of writing. Separate NHS England figures also revealed that nearly two out of every five applications (37 per cent) made by patients wanting to travel abroad for treatment were approved in 2024, up from just one in five (21 per cent) in 2022, suggesting more applications are meeting the criteria for 'undue delay'. Rachel Power, chief executive of The Patients Association, said when patients felt compelled to seek treatment abroad, it was 'a reflection of the state of the waiting lists and the very severe problems of the NHS'. Mrs Power suggested the system could worsen 'inequalities', as the scheme is only accessible to those able to work out the application process and who have the means to pay for travel and accommodation. 'To do this, you have to have the confidence and ability to navigate the system – we talk to patients all the time who can't navigate and access treatment [on the NHS],' she said. Prof Ranee Thakar, president of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, said the fact patients were travelling long distances for treatment was 'clear evidence that they can't access the care they need, when they need it'. She added the Government must tackle the 'critical issue' of long waits for gynaecology treatment in its upcoming NHS 10-year health plan. 'There are more than three quarters of a million women in the UK waiting for hospital gynaecology care, with serious conditions that have a devastating impact on almost every aspect of their lives,' said Prof Thakar.

BBC News

an hour ago

• BBC News

Lucie Southall: Brother vows 'never again' after 21-hour walk

A brother from Redditch has vowed "never again" after walking more than 50 miles through the night in tribute of his late sister. Ashley Southall, from Redditch, lost his 12-year-old sister Lucie when she died from leukaemia in 2013. Her family set up the Lucie Southall Leukaemia Fund a year later to raise money for charity through challenges and events. The 31-year-old completed the challenging on Saturday, walking through fields, bridleways, canals and footpaths in a mammoth 21-hour stint. The route took him and friend from Lucie's dedicated bench in Arrow Valley Lake to Ronald McDonald House in Birmingham. The centre provides en-suite bedrooms for family members whose children are being treated at Birmingham Children's Hospital. It can accommodate up to 60 families at any one time and supports more than 6,000 in an average year. Lucie's family say it gave them a place to stay when it mattered most. In a renewed fundraising push, they are trying to raise £5,000 to sponsor two rooms for three years. The pair set off on a warm Friday afternoon and Mr Southall said he felt okay for about 35 miles before the blisters and the cramp set claimed they also had to contend with unruly wildlife including "an angry bull and fierce swans". But he still managed to "keep his head while his body took a bettering", he added. After the challenge, though, he jokingly had one message: "Never again." Lucie's cousin David Southall helped organise the event but was unable to take part due to an injury. The newly-qualified firefighter was advised against the challenge to avoid making his bad knee worse, but said loved ones were impressed by the effort. "Everyone that knows Ash knows that he is way out of his comfort zone but he's also not someone that will give up easily either," he said. "All family and friends are proud of both of the lads and the Lucie Southall Leukaemia Fund is grateful for all of the funds raised." Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.