PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Keith Taylor
TI  - Asylum seekers, refugees, and the politics of access to health care: a UK perspective
AID  - 10.3399/bjgp09X472539
DP  - 2009 Oct 01
TA  - British Journal of General Practice
PG  - 765--772
VI  - 59
IP  - 567
4099  - http://bjgp.org/content/59/567/765.short
4100  - http://bjgp.org/content/59/567/765.full
SO  - Br J Gen Pract2009 Oct 01; 59
AB  - The UK government has recently consulted on proposals to prohibit access to health care for some asylum seekers. This discussion paper considers the wider ethical, moral, and political issues that may arise from this policy. In particular, it explores the relationship between immigration and health and examines the impact of forced migration on health inequalities. It will be argued that it is both unethical and iniquitous to use health policy as a means of enforcing immigration policy. Instead, the founding principle of the NHS of equal access on the basis of need should be borne in mind when considering how to meet the needs of this population.