... For how long should people understand the importance to have bitcoins for emergencies such as this one?
Okay let's assume the lady has bitcoins on her non-custodial wallet but she still needed to sell it for fiat because the hospital doesn't accept BTC. What if she tried to trade it on a centralized exchange and the platform suddenly froze her account for some reason? That's still going to be a problem. How about P2P platforms? A lot of them requires bank accounts for trades so the same issue.
It's not really bitcoin's problem but the point here is that there is always a risk as long as people continue to use centralized platforms.
Completely agree, centralised platforms has too many verifications and rules to be followed for which it’s not a good idea always to use these in case of emergencies.
Instead in these type of situations, the person should do P2P deal and that too preferably for cash. That is the best way to get money if you don’t want the bank or any legalised body to get involved.
Moreover hospitals should definitely need to accept Bitcoins, as not many people hold their assets in form of cash.