Thread by @DocsNotCops

The Department of Health has sent a directive to NHS Trusts telling them "new visitors from [countries in the EU] to the UK will be chargeable at the standard NHS tariff" from Oct 31st (thread)
mirror.co.uk/news/politics/…
#HostileEnvironment #PatientsNotPassports

We've been campaigning against NHS charges since the 2014 Immigration Act, which introduced new immigration health "surcharges" - increasing the costs of visas for non-EEA nationals working, studying, or visiting families for longer than six months irr.org.uk/news/immigrati… /2

Since 2014 the Immigration Health Surcharge has been doubled. The costs were already prohibitive. It is a form of "double taxation" as @SatbirLSingh @JCWI_UK explains here: talkradio.co.uk/news/plan-doub… /3

@SatbirLSingh @JCWI_UK The Immigration Health Surcharge breaks families - and harms the NHS. NHS nurse Evaline Omondi had to send her two youngest children home to Kenya because she could not afford it - before it was doubled independent.co.uk/news/health/nu… /4

@SatbirLSingh @JCWI_UK The new Dept of Health guidance says "in the absence of a reciprocal healthcare agreement with an EU country after exit day new visitors from that country to the UK will be chargeable". This is about upfront charging - introduced in Oct 2017 regulations patientsnotpassports.co.uk/learn/what-are… /5

@SatbirLSingh @JCWI_UK Upfront charging received attention during the Windrush scandal - its introduction prompted the denial of cancer care to Albert Thompson/Sylvester Marshall for six months theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/m… /6

@SatbirLSingh @JCWI_UK But Sylvester Marshall wasn't the only person affected. The Equality and Human Rights Commission @EHRC and others have found asylum seekers - who are still entitled to free care - are too afraid to seek it amp.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/n… /7

@SatbirLSingh @JCWI_UK @EHRC Fear among people who are entitled is understandable - the regulations are complex and proving eligibility is a bureaucratic nightmare. And even a government minister has admitted some migrants have been wrongly charged for care theguardian.com/society/2019/f… /8

@SatbirLSingh @JCWI_UK @EHRC Patients have been deterred for YEARS
"I see all these people being shipped away, and our community’s full of stories of people being done up in hospital by this business... and I got scared this would happen to me." independent.co.uk/voices/nhs-hea… /9

@SatbirLSingh @JCWI_UK @EHRC People aren't just afraid of charges - they're afraid of detention, deportation...

"she had pneumonia but never sought any hospital or GP help because she was too frightened...what killed her was her fear of accessing healthcare.” @thevoiceofdws independent.co.uk/news/uk/politi… /10

@SatbirLSingh @JCWI_UK @EHRC @thevoiceofdws Despite Bevan correctly noting that 'financial anxiety in time of sickness is a serious hindrance to recovery', the UK is already a shameful outlier regarding fear of accessing healthcare

https://twitter.com/DocsNotCops/status/1154017215798218752

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@SatbirLSingh @JCWI_UK @EHRC @thevoiceofdws Immediately after the EU referendum, we emphasised our view: "Patients should not be discriminated against on the basis of their nationality which, in the absence of adequate training, is often conflated with race, surname or accent"

https://twitter.com/DocsNotCops/status/748803479297093637

/12

@SatbirLSingh @JCWI_UK @EHRC @thevoiceofdws We saw Emma Szewczak-Harris targeted because of her Polish surname in 2017 metro.co.uk/2017/10/21/pre… /13

@SatbirLSingh @JCWI_UK @EHRC @thevoiceofdws More recently, the horrific story covered by @VictoriaLIVE - a woman from Western Europe whose baby died following an emergency Caesarean was not given the body as her and her partner were unable to pay £10,000 in medical fees bbc.co.uk/news/amp/healt… /14

@SatbirLSingh @JCWI_UK @EHRC @thevoiceofdws @VictoriaLIVE In Feb this year, we signed a joint statement on the Immigration & Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Bill w/@Schools_ABC @UnisNotBorders @migrants_rights
+others, rejecting the government’s continued commitment to the #HostileEnvironment: docs.google.com/document/d/1Zp… /15

@SatbirLSingh @JCWI_UK @EHRC @thevoiceofdws @VictoriaLIVE @Schools_ABC @UnisNotBorders @migrants_rights As @CHPIthinktank said in their piece on the EU Withdrawl Bill's immigration provisions: "the toxic debate about Brexit has started to corrode the NHS’s founding principles"

https://twitter.com/DocsNotCops/status/1095391894048251904

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@SatbirLSingh @JCWI_UK @EHRC @thevoiceofdws @VictoriaLIVE @Schools_ABC @UnisNotBorders @migrants_rights @CHPIthinktank This is a fundamental point: the govt has provided no evidence NHS charges do or will raise more money than they cost in bureucratic administration - that's because raising money isn't the aim

The aim is to end free at the point of need care for all
redpepper.org.uk/defend-migrant… /17

@SatbirLSingh @JCWI_UK @EHRC @thevoiceofdws @VictoriaLIVE @Schools_ABC @UnisNotBorders @migrants_rights @CHPIthinktank Charges for GP visits. Charges for overnight stays in hospital. Big hikes to prescription charges. Means-testing of NHS ‘end of life’ care.

These discredited policies are regularly resurrected by conservative media and thinktanks opendemocracy.net/en/ournhs/nhs-… /18

@SatbirLSingh @JCWI_UK @EHRC @thevoiceofdws @VictoriaLIVE @Schools_ABC @UnisNotBorders @migrants_rights @CHPIthinktank We are fighting back
We are health workers - we're not trained to police people's access to health care - we're #DocsNotCops!
Healthcare is a human right - we're #PatientsNotPassports!
opendemocracy.net/en/ournhs/how-… /19

@SatbirLSingh @JCWI_UK @EHRC @thevoiceofdws @VictoriaLIVE @Schools_ABC @UnisNotBorders @migrants_rights @CHPIthinktank We work with fellow campaigns in Europe, like @YoSisanidaduniv fighting for universal healthcare in Spain - and winning

https://twitter.com/NicolettaEnria/status/1039249743157899264

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@SatbirLSingh @JCWI_UK @EHRC @thevoiceofdws @VictoriaLIVE @Schools_ABC @UnisNotBorders @migrants_rights @CHPIthinktank @YoSisanidaduniv We need you to get involved - learn more via the patientsnotpassports.co.uk toolkit we created with @Medact and @migrantsorg, or Medact's Briefing medact.org/2019/resources… /21

@SatbirLSingh @JCWI_UK @EHRC @thevoiceofdws @VictoriaLIVE @Schools_ABC @UnisNotBorders @migrants_rights @CHPIthinktank @YoSisanidaduniv @Medact @migrantsorg Please take just 5 mins to sign our letter - call on the Department of Health and Social Care to commit to maintaining a truly universal NHS, available to all that need it act.patientsnotpassports.co.uk

and get involved! With us / @DNCSwansea @DNCBrum @PnPStGeorges @MedactBristol /end

@SatbirLSingh @JCWI_UK @EHRC @thevoiceofdws @VictoriaLIVE @Schools_ABC @UnisNotBorders @migrants_rights @CHPIthinktank @YoSisanidaduniv @Medact @migrantsorg @DNCSwansea @DNCBrum @PnPStGeorges @MedactBristol “The new guidance is creating a #HostileEnvironment for millions of EU nationals who have the right to free healthcare in the UK but won’t be able to prove it." - Maike Bohn @the3million - independent.co.uk/news/brexit-no… #PatientsNotPassports