A great many families discover the problem from another country. A brother in Islamabad is not answering calls, money keeps being requested, and a cousin eventually says what has been happening for two years. From London, Dubai, Jeddah or Toronto there is very little you can do directly, and the people on the ground are often the ones least able to be objective about it.
This page is written for that situation. It covers what can realistically be arranged from abroad, what to verify before sending money to any centre, and how treatment is arranged here for a patient whose closest family is overseas.
What you can arrange from abroad
More than most families assume. Assessment can be discussed by telephone with a family member abroad, admission can be arranged without your being present, and where the patient is unwilling to attend, a home visit can be arranged so that the first assessment happens where they are.
What cannot be done from abroad is the consent. An adult patient has to agree to admission, and no legitimate centre will detain someone because a relative overseas has paid for it. Where a person is refusing, the work is to reach agreement rather than to arrange a collection, and that takes time and usually several conversations.
Verify these before you send money to any centre
Distance makes families vulnerable to exactly the kind of centre that should be avoided, because you cannot walk in and look. Everything below can be checked from abroad, and a centre unwilling to answer any of it is telling you something.
- Ask for a video call from inside the ward itself, not the reception or the garden
- Ask who delivers the therapy and what their qualification is, by name and role
- Ask the counsellor-to-patient ratio, and what proportion of the week is actual therapy
- Ask what is included in the fee and what is charged separately — medication, doctor visits, tests
- Ask the visiting policy and whether the patient may speak to you by phone, and how often
- Ask what happens after discharge, and whether follow-up is included
- Ask for the total expected cost in writing before committing to anything
- Be wary of any centre that guarantees a cure or quotes a success rate it cannot evidence
The question of contact during treatment
Centres differ on patient telephone access, and there are legitimate clinical reasons for restricting it early in an admission — particularly where calls are being used to arrange supply, or to pressure the family into securing an early discharge. There is also a less legitimate version, where restricted contact conceals how a patient is actually being treated.
The distinction is whether the policy is explained, time-limited and applied for a stated clinical reason, and whether the family can still speak to staff for an update even when the patient is not taking calls. Ask about this specifically before admission rather than discovering it afterwards.
Time zones, and who receives the updates
Decide before admission which family member is the point of contact, and make sure the centre has that person's number. Where several relatives call separately for updates, information fragments and the version reaching the person paying is often the most optimistic one.
Agree in advance when updates will happen and allow for the time difference. A family five hours behind will otherwise receive news at two in the morning or not at all.
The relative on the ground
Somebody local has to be able to attend, sign, and be present in an emergency, and this person carries most of the burden. It is worth being explicit about who that is rather than assuming, and worth acknowledging that they have been managing the situation alone, often for a long time, while being blamed from a distance for not solving it.
Family counselling is available to them as well as to the patient. Where the household has been organised around the dependence for years, the person who returns home needs a different environment than the one they left, and that work involves the relatives who actually live there.
Cost, and the honest position on it
Treatment in Pakistan costs considerably less than equivalent treatment in the UK, the Gulf or North America, and this is a genuine reason many overseas families treat a relative at home. It also makes overseas families a target for inflated quoting.
A limited number of free and zakat-funded places are available here, assessed case by case. Where a family abroad can pay, we would rather say so plainly and quote accurately than price according to where the payment is coming from. Ask for the total in writing, and ask what is not included.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Can I arrange admission from abroad?
- Yes. Assessment and admission can be arranged by telephone with a family member overseas, and a local relative can attend in person. What cannot be arranged from abroad is the patient's consent, which an adult must give themselves.
- Can a centre admit my relative against their will because I am paying?
- No, and any centre offering that should be avoided. An adult patient must consent to admission. Where someone is refusing, the work is to reach agreement over time, and a home visit can be arranged so the first conversation happens where they are.
- How do I check a centre is genuine from another country?
- Ask for a video call from inside the ward rather than the reception, ask who provides therapy and their qualifications, ask the counsellor-to-patient ratio, and ask for the full cost in writing including what is charged separately. A centre unwilling to answer these is telling you something.
- Will I be able to speak to my relative during treatment?
- Policies on patient phone access differ, and some restriction early in an admission can be clinically justified. What matters is that the policy is explained, time-limited and reasoned, and that family can still get an update from staff. Ask about this before admission.
- Who should be the family contact?
- Decide one person before admission and give the centre their number. Where several relatives call separately, information fragments and the account reaching the person paying is frequently the most optimistic version.
- Is treatment in Pakistan cheaper than abroad?
- Considerably, which is one reason many overseas families treat a relative at home. It also makes overseas families a target for inflated quoting, so ask for the total in writing and ask specifically what is not included.
- What support is there for the relative living locally?
- Family counselling is available to them as well as to the patient. They usually carry most of the burden and have often been managing the situation alone for a long time.
- What happens after discharge if we are not in Pakistan?
- Aftercare is arranged before discharge, including follow-up appointments and, where attendance becomes difficult, home visits. The plan for the first weeks at home should be agreed with the local family present.