Doctors of the World at UK mass asylum containment site
Published 29th January 2024
Doctors of the World (DOTW) UK, have launched a new service, providing primary healthcare to people seeking asylum who are accommodated at the former RAF site in Wethersfield, Essex. The service is run in partnership with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). This collaboration marks the first time MSF has extended its reach to those seeking asylum in the UK.
The large-scale containment site at RAF Wethersfield has prompted concerns about the residents’ physical and mental well-being. Whilst there is a medical centre providing primary healthcare onsite, the men we’ve spoken to tell us their specific health needs are not being met for various reasons.
RAF Wethersfield is an extremely remote site, miles from any big town and cut off from the community. It is heavily surveilled with cameras, guards, surrounded by chain link fence and barbed wire. The site is perceived as a prison by the population.
These conditions, resembling those of the containment site at Napier military barracks and the Bibby Stockholm Barge, take a toll on the mental health of the men we are meeting who have fled from countries like Afghanistan, Eritrea, Syria and Iran. They often feel left in limbo and alone, and experience worsening mental health since arriving at the former military base. The harsh realities of large-scale containment sites mirror the disastrous approach of the Greek government in Lesbos where Doctors of the World also operates.
With asylum claims in limbo and the Home Office planning to increase the resident count from 650 to 1,700, we are highly concerned about deteriorating mental health. With this new project and mobile clinic on site every week, Doctors of the World seeks to provide support and advocacy to those living in Wethersfield.
Simon Tyler, Doctors of the World UK Executive Director: “A consequence of the broken asylum system is that we are now seeing people forced into containment sites that operate like open prisons. These camps are not a sustainable solution for anyone there stuck in limbo, or the local communities. But an efficient and safe process can exist to allow people to rebuild, be active, and look after their own health. Our medical team on the ground is supporting those affected access medical care as needed.”
Press contact: media@doctorsoftheworld.org.uk
