Doctors of the World – London Clinic
Praxis, Pott Street, London E2 0EF. Tel: 020 8123 6614
Mobile: 07974 616 852
Open every Mon, Wed and Fri 1-5pm. No appointment necessary.
Doctors of the World runs a clinic and advocacy programme in east London that provides medical care, information and practical support to vulnerable people, helping them access the healthcare they need.
The clinic is run by volunteer doctors, nurses and support workers who provide information and basic short-term healthcare to excluded people across the UK, such as vulnerable migrants, sex workers and people with no fixed address.
Freedom from Torture
111 Isledon Road, London N7 7JW.
Tel: 020 7697 7777; Fax: 020 7697 7799
Provides services for survivors of torture and other forms of organised violence. Centre staff carry out casework, counselling, advice regarding welfare rights, physical and mental health care, individual and group therapy, complementary therapy, family therapy and child and adolescent psychotherapy. They also give advice, help with the access to statutory health care and write medico-legal reports at the request of solicitors. Staff run training sessions and workshops for professional groups working with refugees and survivors of torture and can discuss issues with health care workers. There are five centres across the UK and details on these are available on the website.
Helen Bamber Foundation
5 Museum House, 25 Museum Street, London WC1A 1JT
Tel: 0207 631 4492; Fax: 0207 631 4493
Human rights organisation that provides treatment and support to survivors of torture, war, genocide, human trafficking for sexual exploitation or labour, gender based violence and extreme domestic violence. Along with Freedom from Torture they are a principal centre for assessment of the sequelae of torture and write medico-legal reports on referral from legal representatives and doctors.
Refugee Council
240-250 Ferndale Road, Brixton, London SW9 8BB.
Tel: 0808 808 2255 or 0808 808 2259 (text phone)
The Refugee Council runs a mixture of direct and indirect services for refugees and asylum seekers in the UK. The main services include the One-Stop Service available in London, Yorkshire & Humberside, East of England & the West Midlands.
Scottish Refugee Council
5 Cadogan Square (170 Blythswood Court), Glasgow, G2 7PH
Tel: 0141 248 9799; Fax: 0141 243 2499
www.scottishrefugeecouncil.org.uk
Welsh Refugee Council
Phoenix House, 389 Newport Road, Cardiff, CF24 1TP
Tel: 029 2048 9800; Fax: 029 2043 2980
Key References
In the wake of proposals to radically reduce migrants’ access to England’s National Health Service (NHS), we question how much consideration has been afforded to the wider public health implications of these proposals, and to what extent they are evidence-based, cost-effective, or even safe. Alma Mata Lancet Global Health Blog Post
Lancet editorial on Immigration and health in the UK
Health tourism and the NHS: facts or fiction?
Experiences of Gömda in Sweden: Exclusion from health care for immigrants living without legal status – Results from a survey by Médecins Sans Frontières
GPs must not be the new border agency in policing access to the NHS: RCGP reaction to Queen’s speech May 2013 statement by Royal College of General Practitioners Chair Dr Clare Gerada, saying GPs have a duty of care to all people seeking healthcare and should not be expected to police access to health care. This is based on a previous position statement.
IHU Entitlement Report 06(Opens a PDF file)
The identification and charging of Overseas Visitors at NHS services in Newham: a Consultation was a consultation carried out in 2005-6 by Imperial College for Newham PCT to investigate the then charging procedures at hospital and primary medical services and which ‘speculatively explore[d] the likely impact of the primary care proposals’. They used the Health Impact Assessment framework. Detailed and still very relevant.
Healthcare for the Community’s Most Vulnerable – Project London Report
Hanefeld J, Horsfall D, Lunt N, Smith R. Medical tourism: a cost or benefit to the NHS? PLOS ONE. DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0070406
Making Children Pay for Their Healthcare Poses Significant Risks – The Children’s Society
Maternal and infant health of vulnerable migrants – Medact 2008
Maternity Action information on maternity rights and benefits for parents who have claimed asylum
Patient Advice and Liaison Services
Equality and Human Rights Commission
The Royal College of General Practitioners position statement on access to primary care for failed asylum seekers and vulnerable migrants