Helpline: Calling For Equal Access To Healthcare

Hi there. This is Doctors of the World. How can I help you? 

Tati is an ICU nurse. She started volunteering in 2020, when the COVID pandemic first started. It’s now been three years and Tati has since answered hundreds of calls from her flat in Scotland, helping people access healthcare from all around the country.  

One in four of the people seeking our support are not able to visit our London clinic and are not living in locations we visit with our medical vans.  

The Doctors of the World Helpline and our team of volunteers respond to the needs of people who live in the UK, have often been denied GP registration or care, and seek advice to look after their and their families’ health.  

“So many people tell me ‘It’s the first time I can get help’. During COVID, there were lots of difficult calls from people realising they didn’t have a GP but needed one to get vaccinated. A lot of people fearing getting sick and needing to know how their underlying health issues might put them at risk. It was very busy, but it was really important.” 

We have all been reminded of the importance of staying healthy in the last few years. Yet, those in power and the policies they uphold continue to chip away at people’s access to medical services, and undermine the work, care and duty of health professionals.   

Many of the people we encounter seek asylum. They have fled violence and poverty and have never accessed any support. 70% are in unstable accommodation and 84% live below the poverty line. Our services fill a gap that should never exist in the first place. No-one should struggle to access healthcare. 

“There’s never a time when you can’t help people; that’s what I like about volunteering with the Helpline. There’s never a dead end. It feels hopeful.” 

Tati’s role as a volunteer is challenging, but incredibly meaningful and valuable. Recently, she received a call from someone who had fled their home country because of gender-based persecution and violence. They feared for their life, made the journey to the UK, and ran out of their HIV prescription within a week of navigating the daunting asylum system and seeking safety in a new country, with no one to turn to. During that call, Tati found an interpreter, made an emergency referral for a clinic appointment and medication, and supported them with GP registration. Within a few days, the caller attended their first appointment and was able to continue their treatment without interruption.  

“When you’ve been excluded from something as vital as healthcare, it’s easy to believe you will be rejected from everything else.
Having been born in the UK, you take it for granted sometimes. I didn’t realise how complex everything is, no matter how badly you need it. Hearing everyone’s story and circumstances… We need to be more compassionate.” 

Understanding the significant impact that wider issues such as housing, destitution and immigration can have on someone’s health is a core part of what we do at Doctors of the World. We signpost and refer people to other services such as immigration advice and specialist counselling. We take the time to ensure that anyone that meets us knows and understands their rights to access healthcare in the UK. We provide specialist advice and resources to pregnant women, sexual health counselling, offer free of charge prescriptions, write clinical letters to GPs, and more. And we always welcome, train, and grow with our volunteers who enable us to support more than 2000 people each year.  

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We are constantly recruiting new volunteers! Our clinic support workers provide a warm and welcoming space at our East London clinic, our caseworkers answer our Helpline and follow up with our service users, and our clinicians are GPs and nurses who provide vital medical care in our clinic and over the phone. If you are interested in volunteering with us, please visit https://www.doctorsoftheworld.org.uk/jobs-and-volunteer-roles/