The Dekagram 9th January 2023

• Published date: 11 January 2023
• Subject Matter: Litigation, Mediation & Arbitration, Trials & Appeals & Compensation
• Law Firm: Deka Chambers
• Author: Ms Sarah Prager and Dominique Smith

The Dekagram is back! After an all-too-brief Christmas holiday, the travel and cross border team has returned to keep our readers up to date on the activities of the courts and legislature in our field. And there is much to report. For the first time ever the FCDO has advised against travel for medical tourism; Dominique Smith gives us her views on the advisory, and asks whether it goes far enough (spoiler: she doesn't think so, and not without reason). Meanwhile, the courts have considered an unusual application for an order for inspection of equipment involved in an accident, although Sarah Prager worries about the wisdom of over-reliance on the judgment. In other news, the government is consulting on whether or not to ratify the Hague Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil or Commercial Matters (Hague 2019, to us), to which the clear and obvious answer must be: yes, get on with it already! If you'd like to contribute to the consultation, the link is to be found here: Consultation on the Hague Convention of 2 July 2019 on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil or Commercial Matters (Hague 2019) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk), and we would encourage you to do so. And the CAA's interim report on airport accessibility is out ( CAA Airport Accessibility Interim report 1 April to 31 October 2022); we'll give you more on that in a future edition, but for now the point to note is that it doesn't look as if the issues around accessibility and air travel are going away any time soon.

Medical Tourism in Turkey: a Warning from the FCDO

Avid readers of the weekly Dekagram will know from our previous articles and Dekinars that medical tourism is ever growing in popularity. From daily Instagram posts of Love Island stars showing the world their 'Turkey teeth', or TikTok videos of influencers sharing the results of their rhinoplasties in Poland with their followers, medical tourism seems almost fashionable. It is not that common however to see or hear of the dire consequences that can arise when medical treatment abroad goes wrong. Not only are there risks with any surgery or treatment (irrespective of whether it is abroad), but the standard of care and facilities in a foreign jurisdiction may be very different to those in England. Sadly, individuals can, and have, paid the price of beauty with their lives.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) recently published advice regarding medical tourism in Turkey. The advice noted that 22 British nationals have died in Turkey since January 2019...