Editor: Moyra Rushby
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Refugee and Asylum Health

Entitlement

Please take a few minutes to read some of the material on these pages.

These documents outline the current situation for refused asylum seekers wanting to access NHS care.

The situation is complex and it can be difficult to determine eligability as regulations change over time.

Those unable to pay for private medical care and who have no access to free NHS care will in effect be excluded from any health care provision.

We believe all those who live in the UK should be eligble for free NHS care until the point they leave or are removed.

Medact and its staff are not able to give individuals advice on their eligability Please do seek legal advice specific to you individual circumstance.

You can find more information on Entitlement by visiting the archive.

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Many of the documents available on this site are in PDF format.

To view them you will need to download Adobe Acrobat Reader if it is not already installed on your system.

Write to your MP on access to NHS care for refused asylum seekers We are asking you to write to your MP to urge them to support any amendment which would allow refused asylum seekers free access to secondary healthcare.

29/05/2009

Failed asylum seekers and ordinary/lawful residence; and when to provide treatment for those who are chargeable The Court of Appeal has overturned a High Court ruling that failed asylum seekers can be considered ‘ordinarily resident’ in the UK and thereby entitled to free NHS hospital treatment. It also found DH guidance unlawful for being unclear when to treat overseas visitors in certain circumstances. (2nd April 2009)

22/04/2009

Medact Statement Statement from Medact on the Court of Appeal Judgment on entitlement to healthcare, issued today:

31/03/2009

COURT OF APPEAL JUDGMENT IN ‘R (YA) –v- SECRETARY OF STATE FOR HEALTH 'Medact regrets that the judgement about entitlement to healthcare by Justice Mittings in April 2008 has been overturned.

30/03/2009

Failed Asylum Seekers / Vulnerable Migrants and Access to Primary Care Royal College of GP's position statement - Feb. 09

17/02/2009

Failed Asylum Seekers / Vulnerable Migrants and Access to Primary Care Royal College of GP's position statement - Feb. 09

17/02/2009

Judicial Review R (A) v SECRETARY OF STATE FOR HEALTH & WEST MIDDLESEX UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL NHS TRUST (INTERESTED PARTY) - CO/8095/2006

16/02/2009

Information and advice on access to NHS Care A list of web sites offering information on allaspects of accessing NHS services

22/12/2008

Media Coverage of the issue the Good and the Bad Here is the way the Media have covered this issue.

10/12/2008

A call for case studies Medact has now been looking at and campaigning on issues relating to access to health care for refugees and asylum seekers for more than three years.
More than ever we need to continue this part of our work and we really do need your help to do so. We are asking people to send us “case studies” of any incidents of concern relating to refugees and asylum seekers accessing NHS care

14/12/2007

Who is currently supporting the campaign? A list of just some of the people who have signed the statement and agreed to support the Campaign

14/12/2007

Notes from Parliamentary meeting 11th December 2007 The meeting was held on December 11th 2007.
Notes from the meeting are available to download with a summary below.

11/12/2007

Home Office Document: Enforcing the rules. a strategy to ensure and enforce complaine with our immigration laws Home Office March 2007

16/10/2007

Joint Committee Human Rights - Tenth Report : The Treatment of Asylum Seekers The evidence and reports of the JCHR along with the response of the Government

16/07/2007

The Impact on and use of the UK’s National Health Service by New Migrants A PhD thesis by Sally Hargreaves. 2007

28/06/2007

The identification and charging of Overseas Visitors at NHS services in Newham In 2003 the UK Government announced proposals to tighten up existing legislation on the identification and charging of Overseas Visitors.
Newham PCT commissioned the International Health Unit (IHU), Imperial College, to undertake a Consultation to further explore these issues in 2006, the primary aim being to investigate current charging procedures at hospitals and at primary medical services.

02/05/2007

Reports documenting issues of access around health care for refugees and asylum seekers These reports constitute part of the growing body of evidence highlighting the failure to provide even a minimum standard of health care and social provision for perhaps the most vulnerable people living ion the UK toaday. 16/04/2007

Health Select Committee - NHS Charges Third report - The published report was ordered by the House of Commons 6 July 2006.

12/01/2007