We must #EndTheHostileEnvironment so everyone can access the Covid-19 vaccine safely

In the interests of human rights and the health and safety of the population, the Hostile Environment in the NHS must end. Temporary offers of safety are not enough to undo the decades of harm caused by policies that have embedded immigration controls into public services. We signed this call to the Department of Health and Social Care so everyone can access the Covid-19 vaccine safely, regardless of their immigration status. Very grateful to Cllr Dr Hosnieh Djafari Marbini and proud that Oxford City Council is only one of two councils to have joined.

“Coronavirus ‘amnesty’ to get undocumented migrants vaccinated will not be enough, ministers warned. Coalition of 140 organisations write to ministers urging concrete action to end ‘hostile environment’.”

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/coronavirus-immigration-amnesty-vaccine-b1799280.html

Full press release here below:

The Government must go further to ensure undocumented migrants come forward for the coronavirus vaccine, warn local authorities, GP surgeries, charities and public health institutions

• 140 migrants rights’ charities, faith groups, local authorities, health institutions and trade unions have issued a statement to the Department of Health calling for an end to Hostile Environment immigration policies in the NHS so that all migrants can access the vaccine without fear.
• Signatories include: Oxford City Council, Haringey Council, six GP surgeries and primary care networks, the Faculty of Public Health, the Faculty of Homelessness and Inclusion Health, the Refugee Council, Doctors of the World, and over 120 migrants rights charities, faith institutions and civil society organisations.

Following today’s announcement that the Government will not check immigration status for undocumented migrants, charities and health groups have warned that these measures do not go far enough.

The statement calls for the Department of Health and Social Care to guarantee a firewall that prevents any patient information gathered by the NHS or Test and Trace being used for the purposes of immigration enforcement; and an end to all Hostile Environment measures in the NHS, including charging for migrants, to combat the fear and mistrust these policies have created.

The call was initiated by the Patients Not Passports campaign, including charities Medact, Migrants Organise, Doctors of the World, and Docs Not Cops.

Aliya Yule – 07960163915 – aliya@migrantsorganise.org

James Skinner – 07952915870 – jamesskinner@medact.org

James Skinner, former NHS Nurse and Programme Lead for Health and Human Rights, Medact, said:
“Today’s announcement by the Government is a clear admission that the Hostile Environment is incompatible with public health. At the start of the pandemic we warned that the fear created by NHS charging and data sharing would prevent migrant communities accessing treatment for coronavirus, yet it has taken almost a year for the Government to even acknowledge the harm these policies are causing. It will be hard for anyone to trust these assurances from the Government while the rest of the NHS continues to charge people for care and share patient data with the Home Office.”

Aliya Yule, Access to Healthcare Organiser at Migrants Organise, said:
“The experiences of our members at Migrants Organise have shown that the Hostile Environment fosters a culture of discrimination in the NHS, and creates fear and mistrust. Temporary offers of safety are not enough to undo the decades of harm caused by structurally racist policies that have embedded immigration controls into vital public services. The only viable solution is the immediate repeal of all Hostile Environment policies and the creation of an NHS that truly lives up to the principle of universal access for all.”

Anna Miller, Doctors of the World UK Head of Policy and Advocacy, said:
While we welcome the government proactively encouraging migrants to come forward to register with a GP and receive the vaccine, and GP practices to register patients, this exemption doesn’t go far enough to undo the fear and mistrust created by the hostile environment.

The migrant charging policy has done great damage to the relationship between migrant communities and the NHS, creating a situation where patients don’t trust nurses and doctors and avoid healthcare services.

All the evidence shows that removing charges and status checks for a specific health service is not enough to make sure people with insecure immigration status access that service. Primary care has always been free regardless of immigration status, yet most people without status are not registered with a GP. When rolling out the vaccine we really must learn the lessons from this.

The government also needs to do more to get the message to healthcare services. Doctors of the World is still seeing GP practices wrongly turning patients away because they can’t provide documentation, and NHS trusts trying to carry out immigration checks on people attending vaccination appointments.

Munya Radzi, founder of Regularise, said:
“In the last few weeks, several undocumented migrants have reported to Regularise that they haven’t been able to register with a GP, and that people are scared to come forward for the vaccine. The fear is still present even after the news that undocumented migrants will be included in the vaccination programme with people asking how they can trust the Home Office. Whilst it is important that the Government have acknowledged that undocumented migrants have been excluded, they must do more to ensure our communities are included and engaged with in a pro-active way in order to access the COVID-19 vaccination, and to ensure that people are not discriminated against when trying to access healthcare.”

George Miller, Public Health Registrar working for Public Health England, said:
“Being inappropriately asked to provide ID when registering with a GP is not the only barrier to accessing the vaccine. The Government needs to directly address the fear caused by the Hostile Environment in every aspect of the vaccine roll out, from work on vaccine hesitancy, to ensuring that people are not told to bring their ID or NHS number when they register.”

Andy Hewett, Head of Advocacy at the Refugee Council, said:
“We are concerned that many people seeking asylum, currently being accommodated in hotels and other forms of short term accommodation, may not have been registered with a GP and may struggle to do so without support. It’s imperative that the government put in place a mechanism to enable this group to access the vaccine.”

Susan Cueva of the Kanlungan Filipino Consortium, said:
“Although the Government have said they there will be no immigration checks for the Covid-19 vaccine, we still believe that information gathered in this process could be used by the Government to track and trace people who are undocumented with potential backlash later. People will still not trust the vaccine offer because of this. One of the solutions to the pandemic vaccination programme is to regularise the status of all undocumented migrants and those in legal process to keep us all safe.”

Dr Tony O’Sullivan, retired paediatrician and co-chair Keep Our NHS Public, said:
“There must be no barrier of fear from accessing Covid vaccinations and NHS treatment. In the interests of human rights, the health and safety of the population and undocumented people, the hostile environment in the NHS must go now, and access to vaccines is a huge step along this road.”

II. The Demands to DHSC

In order to address the coronavirus pandemic and strengthen public health efforts, the coronavirus vaccine must be safely accessible to everyone, regardless of immigration status, ID or proof of address.

The Government has stated that everyone is able to access the coronavirus vaccine, but in practice, people are being asked for ID, are unable to register with a GP, and are afraid to access services because of longstanding and entrenched barriers to healthcare.

Without further action, the pandemic will continue to have a disproportionate impact on all marginalised groups, including migrant communities, people experiencing or at-risk of homelessness, and BME communities.

We therefore call on the Department of Health and Social Care to ensure the vaccine programme works for everyone, and seeks to address the specific barriers faced by these communities in line with calls from the JCVI.

The Department of Health and Social Care must:

1. Guarantee a firewall that prevents any patient information gathered by the NHS or Test and Trace being used for the purposes of immigration enforcement.
2. End all Hostile Environment measures in the NHS, including charging for migrants, to combat the fear and mistrust these policies have created.
3. Provide specific support to all GP surgeries to register everyone, including undocumented and underdocumented migrants and those without secure accommodation, and ensure that all other routes to vaccination are accessible to everyone.
4. Fund a public information campaign to ensure that communities impacted by the Hostile Environment are aware of their right to access the vaccine and the steps taken above.