MPs have urged the government to suspend NHS charges and immigration checks during the coronavirus crisis, and have warned that undocumented migrants are dying at home because they are afraid to seek medical care.
A letter to the health secretary, Matt Hancock, signed by 60 MPs warns that the government’s efforts to respond to the pandemic are being undermined by the legacy of its hostile environment policies.
The letter cites the case of a Filipino man, known only as Elvis, who died on 8 April while self-isolating at home with Covid-19 symptoms. He did not seek care “fearing that he would be charged thousands of pounds for his treatment, or that he would face immigration enforcement if he tried to access care”, the letter said.
It added that the man’s wife also has the virus but is not seeking help for the same reasons. Elvis’s death came days after that of another man, known only as Rey, according to human rights group Rapar.
The Kanlungan Filipino Consortium, which supports vulnerable migrants from the Philippines, has said there are many undocumented workers in the UK in a similar situation.
“They have lost their jobs due to the lockdown and are ineligible for government support,” said Susan Cueva, from the consortium. “They often live in crowded conditions with other undocumented workers and they are too scared to go to a doctor or hospital.”
Calls to stop NHS data-sharing with the Home Office and suspend healthcare charges for overseas visitors have been backed by the British Medical Association, the Royal College of Physicians and Doctors of the World.
Bell Ribeiro-Addy, one of three Labour MPs who coordinated the letter, said: “The NHS was founded on the idea that healthcare should be available to all who need it, regardless of where they’re from or their ability to pay. The government’s hostile approach to migrants goes against these founding principles.”
When questioned on whether it would back the call during the daily Downing Street press conference on coronavirus on Saturday, the housing secretary, Robert Jenrick, said that the government’s policy “hasn’t changed”.
He said: “But there is the ability for local councils to make sensible decisions based on the risk to life that there may be in a small number of cases, and that’s the way I know many councils regularly treat real concerns, for example with rough sleepers in winter, it’s the way that those councils would approach this situation as well.”
A government spokesperson said: “The government has added coronavirus to the list of infectious diseases for which everyone from overseas can receive treatment or testing free of charge. Given that charges do not apply for coronavirus treatment, NHS trusts have been reminded that immigration checks to establish entitlement to free care are therefore not required.
“We have clearly communicated this and will soon be publishing information about the free treatment of coronavirus in around 40 different languages, to ensure the messaging is clear.”
