Image: Medact
The government has this week announced it will be suspending “with immediate effect” the controversial memorandum of understanding (MOU) under which NHS Digital shared NHS patients’ details with the Home Office.
It’s a significant victory for the #StopSharing campaign by Doctors of the World, the National AIDs Trust, and a host of others - including Docs Not Cops. Campaigners have been insisting that patients should not fear immigration enforcement when seeking NHS treatment. The policy – part of the ‘hostile environment’ - has stirred considerable controversy, with a legal challenge from Migrants’ Rights Network legal challenge due to be heard next month. MPs on the Commons Health Committee also voiced considerable concern after hearing a range of powerful testimony – including from Voices of Domestic Workers, who highlighted a case of a domestic worker who had died of pneumonia 'too frightened' to access healthcare.
