As a doctor and public health researcher, I believe health services should not be de facto border control. Deterring people from seeking help when they are unwell is not only bad for individuals, it is bad for public health. Healthcare is a right for all, not a privilege for some.
Last week, Dr Sarah Wollaston MP and the rest of the health select committee heard evidence to about the impact of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Home Office and NHS Digital (the national information and technology partner to the health and social care system in the UK). This data-sharing agreement to support the tracing of immigration offenders is one of a “suite of products” that enable the government to maintain the “compliant environment”, as they referred to it on the day.
