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Asylum seekers and the right to access health care
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Stevens, Dallal (2010) Asylum seekers and the right to access health care. Working Paper. Coventry: University of Warwick. Warwick School of Law Research Paper (Number 2010/18).
An open access version can be found in:
Official URL: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1657946
Abstract
In recent years, the issue of access to health care by asylum seekers has raised serious questions for government, the courts and the medical profession. Who has the right to medical treatment in the United Kingdom is a political, humanitarian and human rights matter. For the Government - often facing public hostility towards asylum seekers and migrants, fearful of health tourism or “pull factors” to the UK, and confronting burgeoning financial constraints - treatment is often regarded as a concession rather than a right. For the courts, any decision to grant treatment to non-nationals, particularly those with no right to remain, is seen as having has political implications far beyond the needs of the individual. The medical profession, by contrast, prefers in the main to focus on the patient, without regard for immigration status, and is uncomfortable with a dual role.
Where the balance should lie is currently being assessed by Government as it considers responses to a Consultation Paper on Review of Access to the NHS by foreign nationals. At this timely point, this article offers a multi-disciplinary approach to the question of access to health care by asylum seekers, by examining not only the legal position but also government policy, its impact on the individual, and, significantly, the ethical and philosophical arguments pro or contra treatment. It is contended that only through this comprehensive analysis can an appropriate legislative approach be adopted at a time when this critical social right is gaining ascendance.
Item Type: | Working or Discussion Paper (Working Paper) | ||||
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Divisions: | Faculty of Social Sciences > School of Law | ||||
Series Name: | Warwick School of Law Research Paper | ||||
Publisher: | University of Warwick | ||||
Place of Publication: | Coventry | ||||
Official Date: | 12 August 2010 | ||||
Dates: |
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Number: | Number 2010/18 | ||||
Number of Pages: | 28 | ||||
Institution: | University of Warwick | ||||
Status: | Peer Reviewed | ||||
Publication Status: | Published | ||||
Access rights to Published version: | Open Access (Creative Commons) | ||||
Open Access Version: |
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