Email your MP about why GP & emergency healthcare must remain free for all.

The Immigration Bill is currently before Parliament.  It will introduce new eligibility checks for a range of public services - including healthcare - which will make it harder for everyone to access NHS care in future.

The new restrictions on free NHS care contained in the Bill are part of a broader package of restrictions which the Department of Health consulted on over the summer.  One of the proposed changes is to require undocumented and short-term migrants to pay for primary care (GP) and A&E services.

Primary care access is currently universally available for free for a number of important reasons.  It is where people can have their health problems assessed to find out if they need further treatment (before they arrive at a hospital seriously ill and in need of urgent treatment).  It is also where the NHS implements community and public health interventions.  This includes maternal and child health and vaccination programmes.

Primary care is also a key site of diagnosing and preventing the serious communicable diseases which disproportionately affect migrant communities – especially HIV and TB.

Restricting access to healthcare does not make health problems go away. If some members of our community are unable to access GP services, these vital health interventions will be undermined, with consequences for all our health.   Providing preventative care at a GP surgery is also much more cost-effective for the NHS as a whole.

The Regional Asylum Activism Project has written a model email which you can send to your MP to raise your concerns about this issue.

You can use this form below to send the email to your MP.  It would be great if you wanted to add to the email a statement of why you personally are concerned about this issue.

For more information:

• Regional Asylum Activism project briefing on The Immigration Bill and Access to Healthcare
• NAT briefing on Universal access to primary care: A gateway for HIV testing, treatment and prevention

If you live in the North West, Yorkshire or Humberside and would like to get involved with the Regional Asylum Activism Project, contact  Estelle Worthington (North-West) [email protected] or Lorna Gledhill (Yorkshire and Humberside) [email protected].