Impact of UK Government Policy on Migrants Experiences Accessing Healthcare 2006-2019

Abstract

Access to healthcare for migrants is a critical issue in the UK. In recent years the UK government has sought to actively deter migration through the development of a ‘hostile enivronment’. As part of this, entitlement to free healthcare has been restricted for any individual who is not ‘ordinarily resident’ in the UK. This study aimed to establish how these policy changes have affected migrants experience of accessing healthcare in the UK. Through the development of a policy timeline in the period 20062019, and a review of qualitative studies on the topic within this period, it is clear that government policy has adversely affected migrants ability to access appropriate healthcare. As a direct result of changes to government policy, individuals who are elgibile for free healthcare have been denied treatment, and others have been too afraid to present to formal heatlhcare centres for fears of deportation. This study highlights that the government policy is short-sighted and morally wrong; it is not generating savings to the NHS and is putting public health at risk. A limitation of this study is that due to the time scale of policy changes, there is not yet a substantial body of work looking at the impact on migrant health. It is recommended that there is further research in this area so that government policy can be properly informed