A senior Catholic MP has accused the Government of putting migrants’ health at risk by restricting their access to free health care.
Sarah Teather, chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Refugees and a former Coalition Government Minister, was responding to a new report by think thank Demos that found proposals to charge migrants for GP visits would deter vulnerable people from accessing help.
“There is very real danger of undermining the very concept of the National Health Service by preventing those individuals who are in desperate need of treatment from receiving it,” the Liberal Democrat MP for Brent Central told The Tablet.
The research warned that extra NHS charges could prevent migrants from seeking help for transmittable diseases, posing a wider health risk. It builds on a recent survey of 1,000 migrants by Doctors of the World that found that 90 per cent had not registered with a GP, 20 per cent of whom said they were deterred because of fears about immigration controls.
The report recommends establishing “all-in-one” centres that provide health care and confidential advice about migrants’ eligibility for support and charges they might incur. It also recommends blanket exemptions for children and a one-way information sharing system that would allow doctors to access information held by the Home Office.
“Ministers have so far ignored the warnings and pleas of doctors, charities and parliamentarians about the impact that their reforms will have,” warned Ms Teather, adding that she had seen first hand the good that Doctors of the World did among victims of trafficking in London.
“This report contains a number of extremely sensible and workable recommendations that also protect the NHS from misuse. The Government would be foolish to ignore it,” she added.
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