Health Plans May Hit Illegal Immigrants
Illegal immigrants and failed asylum seekers could be barred from all but emergency health services under plans being considered by the Home Office.
Plans to restrict GP accessA joint Home Office and Department of Health review examining proposals to restrict free access to GP surgeries for asylum seekers whose claims have been rejected is due to be published in the New Year.
The Home Office has admitted it is reviewing "the rules governing access to the NHS by foreign nationals", but said no definite proposals had been put forward yet.
Critics have warned the move could increase community tensions by placing even greater pressure on accident and emergency departments.
Currently everyone in the UK qualifies for free primary health care services - such as access to GPs.
But asylum seekers were barred in 2004 from accessing free secondary health services, such as treatment in hospitals for HIV.
The Observer reported that the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) think-tank estimates there are up to 390,000 failed asylum seekers in the UK who would lose access to free healthcare provision under the plans.
Jill Rutter, senior research fellow at the IPPR, told the newspaper: "The Government is in danger of normalising what many people will see as a breach of human rights."
A spokesman for the Home Office said: "We are fulfilling our commitment to review, jointly with the Department of Health, the rules governing access to the NHS by foreign nationals."
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