Woman left fighting for her life after staff at 4* holiday resort ‘didn’t wash their hands’
A holiday goer has claimed that she was left fighting for her life after staff at the Egyptian resort she stayed at 'didn't wash their hands'.
Olivia Hartley, from Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire, was on a romantic getaway with fiancé Thomas Winn at an all-inclusive four-star resort for a week in September 2023.
But Olivia said that she 'nearly died' when she got home from her £1,400 EasyJet holiday to Hurghada, Egypt.
The pair began to feel unwell while at the resort, with Olivia claiming that Thomas threw up 'six times' onboard the return flight, while she began feeling unwell and having diarrhoea just 48 hours after touching down in the UK.
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After failing to keep any food or drink down for three days, the 28-year-old was put in hospital for dehydration, with doctors informing her that her liver and kidney function was 'deranged' and needed urgent treatment.
She was convinced that she caught a horrific virus from someone at the hotel, which she didn't name, highlighting that food hygiene was 'terrible'.
"There were birds everywhere, food lay stagnant for a long, long time, they just poured new food on top of old food that had been out for hours," she explained.
Medics were so concerned that they floated the idea of a liver transplant to the assistant psychologist if her condition did not get better soon.
The condition that doctors said that she was 'very likely' to have been infected with was Hepatitis A, a liver infection that is spread in the faeces of an infected person.
Olivia did eventually make a recovery, but is still suffering the effects of the liver and kidney injury, almost six months later, with worries that she may need a transplant in the future.
She explained: "They (the doctors) were very worried about the liver results and concerned due to the high hepatitis rates in Egypt. With all that, they said it's very likely you have hepatitis. They were 99.9 per cent sure I'd got it from the hotel,
"They were very sure it was hepatitis and told me if my liver doesn't start to improve, you will need an emergency liver transplant in Leeds, which was terrifying."
The holidaymaker said she was 'scared she would die', as they couldn't decide on a treatment plan as they couldn't risk an organ failure, which could have killed her - so they kept her in the hospital for three days.
Despite being discharged, Olivia says that she suffers with joint pain and fatigue, feeling like she has never properly recovered from the events.
The assistant psychologist said it has 'put her off' package holidays, as the couple were looking forward to their first getaway together since COVID.
"This turned into a holiday from hell for us. I've been referred to a liver specialist and it'll be regular liver tests to check how it is," Olivia revealed.
She said that she has heard that a liver injury can deteriorate out of nowhere again with no warning, so she is bracing herself for the worst case scenario.
Following the unfortunate turn of events though, the 28-year-old complained to EasyJet about her hospitalisation, but never heard back from them.
"It's the first time using this company and it's completely destroyed any trust I had with them. There was no protection or humanity offered at all. I felt really angry and like I didn't matter,
"I nearly didn't live to tell the tale," she claimed.
An EasyJet holidays spokesperson eventually addressed the situation, saying: "We're really sorry to hear about this customer's experience, and we're proactively reaching out to resolve their complaints, now that they've been brought to our attention.
"It's our priority to support our customers throughout their experience, from the booking process to returning home, and we want nothing more than to deliver brilliant holidays."
Joshua Nair