Profile picture
DocsNotCops
@DocsNotCops
, 23 tweets, 38 min read Read on Twitter
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 /11
@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" /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" /16
@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 By fostering a sense of scarcity of NHS resources, the government creates a veiled threat to your well-being in order to encourage complicity in a system where your health is positioned as more important and more deserving than that of your neighbour. Prioritising one’s needs is of course made more urgent – and perhaps easier – by constant demonisation of migrants in the media.
@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 /20
@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
Missing some Tweet in this thread?
You can try to force a refresh.

Like this thread? Get email updates or save it to PDF!

Subscribe to DocsNotCops
Profile picture

Get real-time email alerts when new unrolls are available from this author!

This content may be removed anytime!

Twitter may remove this content at anytime, convert it as a PDF, save and print for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video

1) Follow Thread Reader App on Twitter so you can easily mention us!

2) Go to a Twitter thread (series of Tweets by the same owner) and mention us with a keyword "unroll" @threadreaderapp unroll

You can practice here first or read more on our help page!

Related hashtags

#HostileEnvironment #PatientsNotPassports #DocsNotCops

Related threads

Profile picture
James Holland
@James7Holland
THREAD..

..on the biggest and baddest lobbyists in EU town

..the huge influence they have on EU lawmaking

..and how many represent interests from outside the EU.

/1
According to Transparency International @TI_EU, the lobby organisation that has held the most high-level meetings at the European Commission between 2014 and 2018 is @BusinessEurope.

"BusinessEurope?!?" you ask.

/2
@TI_EU @BusinessEurope It is hardly surprising that the vast majority of people have never heard of BusinessEurope.

There is a worrying media blackout about how a complex network of organisations lobby the #EU on behalf of the world largest corporations.

/3
Read 27 tweets
Profile picture
Grant Stern
@grantstern
#THREAD

Yesterday's indictment is a major signal that we're nearing the end of the #TrumpRussia prologue.

I interviewed @Mimirocah1 about the story which she said indicates that "prosecutors are putting the pieces together."

I agree.

Here's my $0.02.

washingtonpress.com/2019/01/08/a-m…
Why is Natalia Veselnitskaya's link to the Kremlin so important?

1 - SDNY provides Mueller with apolitical evidence sent from the target that predates all investigations.
2 - Proves Don Jr. met a Kremlin Agent
3 - Burns the Russian prosecution against @Billbrowder

2/
Natalia Veselnitskaya had been working on the Prevezon case for years, but in 2014 she involved herself drafting of the official response to the DoJ's invocation of a treaty for legal assistance.

She sent the evidence that she worked with the Kremlin to SDNY prosecutors.

3/
Read 15 tweets
Profile picture
Angry Northerner
@AngryNorthernUK
Finally got time to map these across. This is one for EU Citizens in the UK. #Thread @The3Million

The Charter of Fundamental Rights (CFR) codifies a body of case law into a series of 50+ articles built ON TOP OF the European Convention on Human Rights.
The ECHR was built and ratified by convention in 1953. Way before the EU & is distinct from it. We are not losing the ECHR post-Brexit (thus, keeping the UK's HRA)

However, the CFR is tied into membership of the EU & is often the conduit by which the ECHR is activated.
And this is a problem. Since question LS the CFR hasn't answered yet, are points of case law (yet to be determined) not statute. The CFR codifies a number of key elements of legislation (including clarification) across a body of cases across all 28 member states.
Read 14 tweets
Profile picture
Isolated Brit
@IsolatedBrit
UK Problem/Solution thread...
UK Problem: we only got our way 98% of the time in the EU.
UK Solution: quit EU & compare it to USSR.
UK Problem: skills gaps & staff shortages.
UK Solution: scrap freedom of movement.
Read 22 tweets
Profile picture
Dr Dominic Pimenta
@juniordrblog
I am a doctor in the #NHS.
Every scrap of evidence I’ve seen points to total disaster if #NoDealBrexit comes to pass. We must #StopBrexit - here is why. /thread
Thus far I’ve tried to focus solely on the facts, and the facts alone. Informed consent is the bedrock of medicine- I don’t believe anyone knew the consequences of leaving EURATOM or the EMA for example when they voted. Feel free to prove otherwise. /1
It’s not my job to tell people what to do. And I am not. If you still think Leaving with No Deal will be good for the NHS after absorbing all of the above, then that is your decision. You are wrong, but it’s your right to be wrong. /2
Read 18 tweets
Profile picture
Penny Midas Rollo
@PennyMidasRollo
001/ [article content in this tweet series 001-180 reproduced with permission from Martin Howe QC of Lawyers for Britain @lawyers4britain]
#quote "Leaving the EU on WTO terms: pulling down the barriers to world trade
Introduction: why prices will FALL after Brexit, not rise" /002
002/ #quote "Over the past couple of weeks, the media have been full of lurid scare stories about what will happen if the UK leaves the EU on WTO terms, because negotiations with the EU do not result in a withdrawal agreement." /003
#tariffs #NoDeal #Brexit #WTO #ProjectFear #shortages #food #medicines
003/ #quote "One of the most ridiculous and UNJUSTIFIED of these absurd scare stories is that it will lead to higher prices, and even shortages, of foods and medicines." /004
Read 180 tweets

Trending hashtags

#armure #Douma #jeans #MOIS #Brexit #aid #geek #DPC #Tel_Osman #FisheriesInTransition #Health #maddow #barriers #Syria #Italian #6th_Division #Japan #HolyLand #cars #Tech #parotidmass #NDF #FinDuThread #EU #Salisbury
Follow Us on Twitter!

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!

This site is made by just three indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3.00/month or $30.00/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!