We have published a report on migration and vulnerability during the pandemic in the UK produced as part of the University of Birmingham Vulnerable Migrants' Wellbeing Project led by Professor Jenny Phillimore and Laurence Lessary-Phillips (and funded by the Nuffield Foundation and ESRC IAA).
https://www.doctorsoftheworld.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Barriers-to-wellbeing-09.21.pdf
Please do also share the report with colleagues and on social media.
The report, which shows significant unmet healthcare needs and deep digital divide in migrant patients during first wave of the pandemic, draws on Doctors of the World's anonymised service users' data at the height of the first wave of the pandemic.
Amongst the key findings of the report:
* The average number of consultations per month dropped drastically from approximately 170 before the pandemic to 50 during the pandemic
* Service Users were much more likely to find themselves in inadequate housing
* Significant barriers to GP registration remained
* Percentage of undocumented service users decreased, while the percentage of asylum seekers increased.
* There was a significant increase in service users reporting 'bad' or 'very bad' health.
The study strongly highlights how vulnerable patients, who should have been amongst the groups receiving enhanced protection and support throughout the pandemic were excluded from or unable to access mainstream healthcare provision.
In a time when many services (including healthcare) switched to a digital provision due to the pandemic, the research seems to demonstrate that not enough provisions were made to provide an alternative to digital services to people who often experience or suffer from the digital divide.
The report calls on policy makers and service providers to ensure:
* All migrants, asylum seeker and refugees can access the healthcare services they are entitled to, especially GP registration
* Some face to face provision of services is reinstated and alternatives to accessing online registration are made available
* Providers of initial and contingency (hotel) accommodation for asylum seekers provide information and support to access NHS services
* GP surgeries continue to register new patients throughout the pandemic
* Wifi or data is provided for people living in poverty so that they are not excluded from services as they move online
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Note: The material contained in this communication comes to you from the Forced Migration Discussion List which is moderated by the Refugee Studies Centre (RSC), Oxford Department of International Development, University of Oxford. It does not necessarily reflect the views of the RSC or the University. If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post this message please retain this disclaimer. Quotations or extracts should include attribution to the original sources.
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