A dad from Sparkhill, East Birmingham who was rejected an NHS heart transplant and ordered to pay £32,000 for end-of-life care has died. Nasar Ullah Khan’s funeral was taking place at Zia ul Quran Jamia Mosque in Alum Rock.
Mr Khan a Pakistani citizen, who lived in Sparkhill and had been in the UK for nine years, was refused an operation because he did not have leave to remain in the country. Mr Khan was told he could not have a transplant because he had overstayed his visa. He was being granted palliative care but had been told he will have to foot a £32,000 bill.
Mr Khan arrived in the UK as a visitor with ‘entry clearance’ that expired in 2011 but remained in the UK without proper leave.
He was discharged from Birmingham’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital on Wednesday and died at St Mary’s Hospice, Selly Oak, at 2pm on Thursday. He was just 38.
His younger brother Faisal Hanif, from Sparkhill, He said: “We’re all OK. Sania, his wife, was crying for hours.
“It’s tough for us all and difficult. His funeral is taking place today, it’s incredibly sad. I’ve lost my brother.”
Speaking earlier this week, Faisal said: “His wife has not left his side, she has been at the hospital 24 hours.
“My brother came here for a better life, he went to London at first but I invited him to Birmingham to be with my family because he was alone.
“Then he found a flat just a five-minute walk from us. He had tried to work but he had overstayed his visa and he had heart problems, which meant he had collapsed several times and needed treatment.
“In August, he was struggling with his health and he had decided to go back to Pakistan to be with his family, he had completed all the paperwork, but then he had a cardiac arrest and he needed treatment at Heartlands Hospital.
“I am disappointed because we were told on December 14 that he would be considered for a transplant and they would look into placing him on the waiting list, they were saying he would be having tests and scans.
“Then they said he would not be eligible because of his immigration status, because he did not have leave to remain.”
“The NHS are not chasing us for the bill, but we don’t know what is going to happen,” Faisal said.
In a further show of support, businessmen in Birmingham rallied to raise the funds for the end-of-life care and to support Mr Khan and his family.
As he is too unwell to travel back to Pakistan, he had made a ‘fast-track’ application for visas allowing his wife and sons to travel to his bedside.
His prayers were fulfilled and he had an emotional reunion with his family in his hospital room two weeks ago.
