Paid R 70 000 to get member admitted to hospital

I took my wife who had symptoms of internal bleeding on instruction of her physician to Emergency Section of Pretoria East hospital. A request of the hospital as motivated by physician Discovery to obtain authorisation for the admission of my wife to the high care unit was not approved-they indicated that they need 48 hours turnaround time to assess the admission request. The result ? I had to pay R 70000 to get my wife admitted to the hospital which was at 8 o'clock at night a real challenge due to fact that I keep small withdraw limits on my debit and credit cards. <br> So please do not assume that membership of a medical plan such as the expensive Classic Comprehensive Plan will guarantee admission to hospital in the case of an emergency!!! If I was not able to pay the R 70000 my wife would have end up in a public hospital. She was eventually diagnosed with a bleeding ulcer-a condition that could have been fateful if she did not receive medical treatment in time. She eventually spend 3 nights in a High Care Unit and one night in a general ward. When visiting Discovery in Centurion it was explained that the system does not allow approval of more complex quests after hours.