GMIAU National Training Conference on Health and Immigration Control

DATE:Thursday, September 11

WHERE : Manchester, England

Immigration law and practice primarily affect black people by impeding entry to the UK.

Ill health is no bar against deportation.

NHS regulations require the charging for hospital treatment or patients without the correct residency status.

There are particular issues relating to the entry or stay of someone with HIV or AIDS.

There are particular issues relating to mental health and immigration control. One issue is the effect on mental health of the fear of immigration control.

There are no provisions within the immigration rules allowing for carers to come from overseas to look after someone who is ill.

The immigration rules require that anyone coming or staying here has "no recourse to public funds". This prevents many people through disability or ill-health coming here or acting as a sponsor for a family member who wants to come here.

Medical workers can also offer a positive and supportive role in immigration cases, in particular by preparing professional reports in order to persuade the Home Office to allow entry or stay in this country.

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Who this conferene is for

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The conference is for all people working within the health field. It is for health workers in both the statutory and voluntary sectors, including local authority workers involved in health issues. Within the NHS it is designed for doctors, nurses, hospital social workers, benefit advisors, hospital administrators, GPs, health education workers and those involved in community health. It will look at issues both for purchasers and providers. The conference is designed for all those within the voluntary sector who are involved in health matters. The legal, practical and political issues will also be of relevance tohealth lecturers and legal advisors specialising in medical or immigration cases. The conference is also open to students.

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What the conference hopes to achieve

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Health workers receive little or no training on the impact of immigration controls. This is a severe omission given the close relationship between immigration law and health issues.

This conference cannot itself redress this training imbalance. However it intends to make a start by outlining in sufficient detail the law, the practice and the policy issues involved.

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Issues the conference will address

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There are many particular ethical and policy issues the conference will address. These are :

Is denying entry to a person on health grounds a restrictive or benevolent act ? Is it racist or is it designed to prevent disease ?

Is denial of entry ethically any different from quarantining someone under the Public Health Act ?

Is it ethical for you to implement or be complicit in implementing regulations requiring you to assess the immigration status of patients in order to determine their eligibility for free treatment ?

The Home Secretary has announced that there should be greater co-operation between NHS Staff and the Home Office in respect to immigration control. Is such co-operation part of your job ? Would you report a patient’s immigration status to the Home Office ?

Is it a legitimate part of a health worker’s professional conduct to help someone with their immigration problem, for instance by preparing a medical report ?

Should any professional intervention be neutral or should it take the form of positive advocacy on behalf of the person threatened with controls ?

Are immigration controls neutrasl ? Or are they based on theories of eugenics which link together racism and health issues ?

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The format of the conference

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We hope the conference will allow for the maximum amount of the sharing of profesional experiences - both negative and positive !

This will be primarily be a workshop-based conference. It is intended that all participants will attend a basic workshop on immigration law and practice. Following this there will be a choice of workshops on different topics including those raised in this leaflet.

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Registration slip (please print)

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Name :

Contact address :

Telephone :

Fax :

Organisation (if applicable) :

Number of places booked :

Amount of money enclosed :

(Please make cheques payable to GMIAU)

Will you require creche facilities ? Yes/No

If "yes" how many children ?

The ages of the children

Do you or your children have any particular dietary needs ?

Do you have any particular needs regarding access ?

Please note that :

The last date for registration is August 22nd. Later applications cannot be gauranteed a place.

5 hours CDP credit is available for solicitors

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Please return completed application form and monies to :

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The Administrator

Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit

400 Cheetham Hill Rd

Manchester M8 9LE

tel +44 161 740 7722

fax +44 161 740 5172 (if possible please fax inquiries)

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Conference details

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Food will be available as part of the cost of admission. There will be a free creche, so bring your children.

Professional points are available to solicitors.

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To cover the cost of organising the conference and to be as fair as possible we have adopted a sliding scale for admission.

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Doctors, lawyers and lecturers : 95 British pounds

Other NHS workers and local authority workers : 55 British pounds

Voluntary sector workers : 40 British pounds

Students : 10 British pounds

Anyone under threat of immigration laws : free

We hope that all participants will, in the first instance, seek the financial sponsorship of their employer or failing that of their union.

There is a 10% reduction in charges for places booked before August 1st or for organisations booking more than one place.

Overseas participants please pay in sterling.

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Access details

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There is available : wheelchair access, induction loop, sign language interpretors, personal assistance

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Who is organising the conference

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The conference is being organised jointly by Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit and the Department of Applied Community Studies, Manchester Metropolitan University. The Immigration Aid Unit is being financed by the Kings Fund to undertake a wider project into health and immigration control. The Department of Applied Community Studies is a partner in this project.