Barriers to healthcare for unaccompanied asylum seekers

ABSTRACT

971 Table 1ConclusionBarriers to treatment persist, with new covid related issues. Of note we saw a significant fall in patients seen by dentists. Carers report difficulty accessing NHS dentistry. Locally a pilot dental referral service for LAC has been initiated. Patients can be referred by their SW or the named doctor. Interestingly, access to opticians did not appear to be influenced by covid.We found a fall in availability of interpreters face-to-face as well as in general. This appeared secondary to covid concerns and infections.Direct (within Trust) TB referrals fell although this appeared due to local factors. 100% patients were referred via GP or directly.We found good practice regarding mental health screening & catch-up immunisations. It is notable that in 2021 one UASC refused immunisations. Our IHA doctors report increasing frequency of reluctance regarding immunisations. It is possible this is secondary to covid vaccination misinformation on social media.Routine blood and haemoglobinopathy screening markedly improved, however communication of results was consistently lower than expected. We noted in 2019 that results not communicated appeared to where bloods weren’t sent on the day and recommended all bloods be sent on day of assessment. However due to covid-19 the phlebotomy service is no longer walk-in, affecting our ability to achieve this.There are insufficient CAMHS resources to see all UASC despite high incidences of PTSD and anxiety. A joint or contemporaneous assessment with mental or emotional health professionals might be a solution. The London Asylum seekers consortium is running a health and welfare check pilot project. It will be interesting to see its impact as the focus is more emotional than the IHA.