asylum seekers and health

asylum seekers and health - a bma report

Press release date: Wednesday, 23 Oct 2002 (BMA London)
A new report from the British Medical Association, published today (23 October), states that the health of asylum seekers may actually get worse after entry to the UK.

'Asylum seekers: meeting their healthcare needs' comes from the BMA's Board of Science and Education and calls on the Government to allocate sufficient funding and implement effective policies to ensure that the health of this minority group does not deteriorate in the UK.

The report claims that from the point of entry to the UK not enough is being done to safeguard the health of asylum seekers. Basic medical testing does not routinely take place which means that tuberculosis (TB) often goes undiagnosed, those suffering from psychological affects of torture are not always referred to specialist centres and unaccompanied children are not given appropriate vaccinations and immunisations.

There are also a number of barriers to healthcare for asylum seekers. For example insufficient translation services, in particular in the area of mental health, lack of continuity of care and essential documentation, for example exemption for charges forms, are only available in English and Welsh.

Dr Vivienne Nathanson, the BMA's Head of Science and Ethics said today:
"Asylum seekers have often been subjected to persecution and possibly torture and rape. We are failing some very vulnerable people, whose health is actually deteriorating rather than improving in the safety of the UK."

She added: "By launching this report now, we can hopefully influence implementation of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Bill. It is essential that new policies take account of what has gone wrong in the past and ensure that future procedures safeguard the health of asylum seekers. It is also vital that lessons are learnt from successful projects currently taking place so that good practice can be replicated."

A significant number of asylum seekers are prone to particular health problems. For example, a range of communicable diseases (TB, Hepatitis, HIV/Aids), the physical effects of war and torture (rape/sexual assault, landmine injuries, beatings and malnutrition) and social and psychological problems (depression, stress and anxiety, racial harassment).

Specific recommendations from the report include the following:

The dispersal policy should be effectively managed so that asylum seekers receive adequate accommodation and are not moved from place to place. In this way, they will be more likely to integrate into the community and access the services they require.
Funding for asylum seekers should not be provided within existing budgets for GPs as this will have a knock on effect on healthcare provision to the resident population but should be new money.
Children should be educated within the local community as this improves integration with the host community and is therefore beneficial to their general wellbeing.
More research is needed in order to progress the debate on the impact of UK immigration controls on health – this should include basic demographic characteristics of asylum seekers, health on entry to the UK and the impact on GP practices and the cost effectiveness of the government's new proposals.
The physical and mental health of all asylum seekers (including unaccompanied children) should be assessed and appropriate treatment and/or support given. Medical assessment should include testing for TB, Hepatitis A, B, C and HIV (with appropriate counselling), immunisation and vaccinations assessment and referral to a specialist centre if there is any evidence of physical or psychological torture or maltreatment.
Trained interpreters or advocates, rather than family members or friends should be used wherever possible if language is not shared.
Asylum seekers should not normally be held in detention. This applies especially to families, children and pregnant women. Detention can remind torture victims of their experiences and compound the psychological damage/torment that they have already suffered.

The United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, which Britain signed in 1951, states that host countries must provide those fleeing tyranny and persecution with access to health services, housing, education and employment.

Ends

Note for editors
Click here to access the full report.

Keywords: Human rights

Full text PDF file

Source: http://www.bma.org.uk