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‘Tis the season to give a damn: we reveal our 2016 Christmas cards

Today we unveil our 2016 Christmas cards that starkly juxtapose vintage biblical nativity scenes with modern-day photographs of conflict zones across the Middle East.

The cards, with names including ‘Not So Silent Night’ and ‘The Star of Bedlam’, were designed pro bono by advertising agency McCann London and feature photojournalism from Press Association taken over the last year.

Rather than making a religious statement, these images seek to remind the public that this year war has forced millions from their homes, and they really need our help.

“Every Christmas a romanticised picture is presented of the holy land of the past, featuring peaceful pastoral images that are shared in homes, churches and high streets across the country,” says Leigh Daynes, executive director of Doctors of the World. “This is completely at odds with the humanitarian crisis that the region faces today.

“This Christmas we’re asking people to see the realities that we see of the war-torn Middle East, and share some goodwill with a donation to help us give medical aid to people in desperate need.”

Conflict in the Middle East has led to the biggest forced displacement of civilians since the Second World War. The United Nations estimates that 65million people have fled their homes because of violence and armed conflict; half are from just three countries: Syria, Afghanistan and Somalia; some 28 million are children. Although the number of refugees fleeing to Europe this year has dropped sharply, the likelihood of dying whilst crossing the Mediterranean has spiraled to one in 88.  Between Libya and Italy the likelihood of dying at sea is even higher, at one death in every 47 arrivals.

“Instead of sending shop-bought cards this year I’m asking everyone I know to buy and send these unique cards,” added TV presenter and Doctors of the World Trustee Dr Chris van Tulleken, who presents the BAFTA winning CBBC programme ‘Operation Ouch’ with his twin brother Xand.

Proceeds from the sale of each pack will help us provide vital medical aid to people who’ve been forced from their homes by war.  And help to re-instate a little of the most festive feeling of all – hope.

What you can do

• Buy a pack of cards. A pack of four limited edition cards, each of a different design, cost £10 and can be purchased from Doctors of the World at its shop or by calling 020 7167 5789. Part of the proceeds from the sale will support Doctors of the World’s humanitarian work.
• Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (linkable): every week we’ll release a story from the Middle East. You can help us share these by using the campaign’s hashtag #RealityXmas
• Donate now  – support Doctors of the World’s medical and humanitarian work and make a difference this Christmas.

Media requests

For more information and interviews contact Pippa Hatton phatton@doctorsoftheworld.org.uk or Shyamantha Asokan sasokan@doctorsoftheworld.org.uk

Both can be reached on 020 7167 5789 or on 07540 483080

Doctors of the World is apolitical and non-religious, providing care according to need.  It is a signatory to the Code of Conduct for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and NGOs in Disaster Relief.

Calais update: confusion and mistreatment continue

It’s only been two weeks since the Calais camp demolition, but already the system to house refugees at “reception and orientation” centres (Les Centres d’accueil et Orientation, CAOs) across France is failing to meet basic human needs.

We’re hearing reports that refugees are unable to access healthcare and aren’t being provided with enough food: sometimes only one meal per day. Many organisations responsible for the CAOs have not been trained to work with refugees, which is a concern as people’s mental health could easily be worsened if they are not treated professionally.

Unaccompanied minors were promised a Home Office representative at each CAO to continue the family reunification process and deal with asylum claims, but in many cases these representatives never arrived.

Age assessments are being carried out at CAOs for unaccompanied minors, and in some regions social services have been excluded from this process, causing alarm about how children are being treated.

Psychiatric assessments recently concluded that 90% of unaccompanied minors meet the criteria for a recognised psychiatric disorder. Broken promises, especially relating to huge life-changing decisions, will only exacerbate this.

The situation in the CAOs is so bad that many men, women and children have left and are now sleeping rough. A ‘humanitarian camp’ opened in Paris for 400 men on 10 November, but the centre for vulnerable women and children is yet to open.

As a humanitarian medical charity which has played an integral part in supporting the needs of refugees in France for years, we’re appalled by the way vulnerable people continue to be treated, and we’re being given very little information about what’s happening. We haven’t even been provided with the locations of the CAOs so that we can follow up with patients; something we’ve been asking for since the process was announced. Instead, we’re hearing these reports through refugees who’ve contacted us on a free phone number we provided, meaning we’re only able to follow up with those individuals.

In Calais, police are continuing to arrest people, and many are stationed at the Eurostar station and port.

“They seem to be arresting anyone who’s not white,” says Mélanie Vion, Doctors of the World’s regional assistant in Calais. “We believe they’re looking for refugees in the wider Calais area as well.”

After arrest, refugees are taken to detention centres. This was even the case for a man who was known to have mental health problems.

“When they started demolishing the Jungle, he was still in his shelter,” explains Vion. “Services were on their way to help as they knew he was mentally ill, but during the long wait he grew frustrated and became violent.

“The police arrested him and he was in detention for about a week, even though they knew he was unwell. We fought to get him released and eventually he was. He was still distressed and didn’t want to go to a CAO. We think he went to Paris instead.”

We’re extremely concerned for the mental health of refugees who’ve already been through so much and are now being treated horrendously. Humanitarian needs must always be the highest priority, but throughout this process human rights have continuously been breached.

Asking for ID will stop vulnerable people going to hospital

The UK Government’s Department of Health is looking into proposals to ask all patients to show two forms of ID when they go to hospital, to assess whether they are eligible for free treatment. Doctors of the World strongly opposes such measures as they will deter the very people who most need healthcare from going to hospital.

Doctors of the World runs a unique clinic in east London for people who are struggling to access the NHS – we regularly see heavily pregnant women, victims of trafficking and seriously ill people who are not getting the care they need, often because GP surgeries wrongly tell them that identity and address documents are mandatory.

“Doctors are caregivers, not border guards. Protecting the NHS from alleged misuse must not compromise a doctor’s duty to treat the patient in front of them,” says Leigh Daynes, Executive Director of Doctors of the World UK. “From the amount of sick and vulnerable people we see turned away from GP surgeries every day, we know there’s already confusion about identity checks among frontline healthcare staff and proposed new rules will only add to that.”

The health ministry has set a target of saving £500m a year by charging visitors to the UK and some migrants to use parts of the NHS. But it has not assessed whether this programme will actually cost more money, in terms of staff time and administrative work, than it saves. The UK’s National Audit Office noted this in a review last month.

Many of the doctors we work with are opposed to the rules and don’t want to refuse to treat someone simply because they don’t have certain documents. Some doctors have threatened to boycott the rules if they are put in place.

Many people, including British people, do not own a passport or the other forms of photo ID that might be required.

Everyone in the UK has the right to free primary care, which includes access to a GP, and free accident and emergency hospital treatment. Some migrants have to pay for secondary care via a one-off fee paid before entering the UK, via European health insurance, or via direct charges when they visit the hospital.

“We’re not opposed to some NHS charges for visitors who can afford to pay them, but these kinds of ID measures would make it even harder for the most vulnerable members of our society to get the healthcare they need,” says Lucy Jones, UK programme manager for Doctors of the World. “And it’s not even likely to save the NHS money either.”

Half of Europe’s vulnerable pregnant refugees can’t get care

Almost half of vulnerable pregnant refugees and migrants across Europe have no access to antenatal care, while similarly high numbers live in unstable temporary accommodation and limit their movements for fear of being arrested, a new report by Doctors of the World shows.

Our report, released today, surveyed over 30,500 patients in 2015 in 12 countries, and looks at access to healthcare across many vulnerable groups who visited our clinics across Europe.

Among the pregnant women surveyed, 44 per cent had not had any access to antenatal care before they visited us. In addition, 48 per cent said their housing was temporary or unstable, meaning they could not be sure of having a roof over their head when they delivered, and 58 per cent limited their movements for fear of being arrested.

Nehla, a 35-year-old Tunisian living in France, is one of the women we worked with last year. Nehla is an undocumented migrant – because her family doesn’t have a residence permit, their social benefits were blocked, even though her husband runs a craft business that had enabled him to obtain health coverage.

We met Nehla in her seventh month of pregnancy because her hospital had started denying her access to care providers without advance payments. She is diabetic and had been receiving antenatal care for a high-risk pregnancy. We submitted a request for State Medical Aid (AME) for her and contacted the hospital on her behalf. After two weeks, Nehla’s consultations were back on track and one week later State Medical Aid was granted.

Our European clinics are mostly used by undocumented migrants. Amongst the patients surveyed, 92 per cent were foreign citizens, with around two-thirds hailing from non-EU countries and a quarter hailing from EU countries. Of the pregnant women surveyed, 18% were in the process of claiming asylum and 52 per cent had no permission to reside.

This report also looks vaccination rates amongst children and the reasons that so many of our patients struggle to access healthcare. We found that over half of children had not been vaccinated against measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) and around a third had not been vaccinated against tetanus.

Financial barriers, such as the cost of treatment or insurance coverage, were most common, cited by one in four people as the main reason for not being able to access healthcare. Over one in eight cited problems with red tape, such as not having all the documents demanded of them.

Read the full report .here.

Calais update: confusion and mistreatment continue

By Pippa Hatton

It’s only been two weeks since the Calais camp demolition, but already the system to house refugees at “reception and orientation” centres (Les Centres d’accueil et Orientation, CAOs) across France is failing to meet basic human needs.

We’re hearing reports that refugees are unable to access healthcare and aren’t being provided with enough food: sometimes only one meal per day. Many organisations responsible for the CAOs have not been trained to work with refugees, which is a concern as people’s mental health could easily be worsened if they are not treated professionally.

Unaccompanied minors were promised a Home Office representative at each CAO to continue the family reunification process and deal with asylum claims, but in many cases these representatives never arrived.

Age assessments are being carried out at CAOs for unaccompanied minors, and in some regions social services have been excluded from this process, causing alarm about how children are being treated.

Psychiatric assessments recently concluded that 90 per cent of unaccompanied minors meet the criteria for a recognised psychiatric disorder. Broken promises, especially relating to huge life-changing decisions, will only exacerbate this.

The situation in the CAOs is so bad that many men, women and children have left and are now sleeping rough. A ‘humanitarian camp’ opened in Paris for 400 men on 10 November, but the centre for vulnerable women and children is yet to open.

As a humanitarian medical charity which has played an integral part in supporting the needs of refugees in France for years, we’re appalled by the way vulnerable people continue to be treated, and we’re being given very little information about what’s happening. We haven’t even been provided with the locations of the CAOs so that we can follow up with patients; something we’ve been asking for since the process was announced. Instead, we’re hearing these reports through refugees who’ve contacted us on a free phone number we provided, meaning we’re only able to follow up with those individuals.

In Calais, police are continuing to arrest people, and many are stationed at the Eurostar station and port.

“They seem to be arresting anyone who’s not white,” says Mélanie Vion, Doctors of the World’s regional assistant in Calais. “We believe they’re looking for refugees in the wider Calais area as well.”

After arrest, refugees are taken to detention centres. This was even the case for a man who was known to have mental health problems.

“When they started demolishing the Jungle, he was still in his shelter,” explains Vion. “Services were on their way to help as they knew he was mentally ill, but during the long wait he grew frustrated and became violent.

“The police arrested him and he was in detention for about a week, even though they knew he was unwell. We fought to get him released and eventually he was. He was still distressed and didn’t want to go to a CAO. We think he went to Paris instead.”

We’re extremely concerned for the mental health of refugees who’ve already been through so much and are now being treated horrendously. Humanitarian needs must always be the highest priority, but throughout this process human rights have continuously been breached.

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