Patients not Passports: Challenging Far Right Policies in the NHS

Through successive immigration acts, the Government has introduced a border regime into the National Health Service. Migrants are now charged upfront to use the NHS, denied care when they cannot prove their eligibility or pay, and are having their sensitive data shared with immigration officials, making many afraid of seeking care altogether.

Join Docs Not Cops, Migrants Organise, Medact, and supporting organisations for the launch of the Patients Not Passports toolkit and learn how together we can bring down the Hostile Environment in the NHS.

We've lined up some incredible speakers for the evening:

Colenzo Jarrett-Thorpe, National Officer for Health - Unite the union
Elwaldo Romeo, Windrush Action.
Suresh Grover, The Monitoring Group.
Amrit Wilson, member of South Asia Solidarity Group and former Chair of Imkaan.
Sophie Williams, Doctor and member of Docs Not Cops.

Chaired by Reem from Docs Not Cops and James from Medact

The event is cosponsored by Asylum Matters, Feminist Fightback, Global Justice Now, Haringey Welcome, Health Campaigns Together, Health Poverty Action, Housing Justice IWGB - Independent Workers Union of Great Britain, Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, Keep Our NHS Public, Labour Against Racism And Fascism, Let Us Learn Campaign, Migrants' Rights Network, Migrant Voice, Naccom Network, Praxis Community Projects, The People's Assembly Against Austerity, People's Health Movement UK, The Runnymede Trust, Women for Refugee Women, and the3million.

The evening will also include a free meal. The venue is wheelchair accessible.

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The Windrush scandal, which revealed that British citizens were denied cancer care, is only the tip of the iceberg. Healthcare workers have reported elderly people being deported without adequate care, children with brain tumours being turned away, care being delayed until a condition is untreatable and countless examples of racial profiling, incorrect designations and other misapplications of the policy that prove its unworkability.

The charging regime is a manifestation of far right politics, now adopted and promoted by the Government. The Hostile Environment in the NHS constitutes a threat to migrant and BAME communities, as well as being a precursor to accelerated austerity. This makes the charging regime a key battle ground in the struggle against racism and austerity in Britain today.

Patients not Passports: Challenging Far Right Policies in the NHS will be an opportunity to learn about how the policies are affecting healthcare workers and migrant communities, the collective organising responses being formulated, and how you can get involved. The event will also publicly launch the Patients Not Passports campaigning toolkit which can be accessed online at www.patientsnotpassports.co.uk