Our NHS Health Outreach team helped more than 500 people who are refugees or seeking asylum to receive essential health care during the last 12 months.
The multi-disciplinary team work across Suffolk to connect marginalised and vulnerable adults to mainstream health and social care services.
They offer treatment, care, advocacy and advice for homeless people, refugees and asylum seekers, gypsies and travellers, migrant workers and ex-offenders.
Carmalita Njie, a Registered Nurse specialising in adult nursing, worked in a nursing home before joining the Health Outreach team in 2020, a month before the Covid pandemic began.
She predominantly works with people seeking asylum who are being temporarily housed in Suffolk hotels.
Carmalita said: “You hear some really horrific, really sad, stories.
“I do feel it’s a privilege to work with them and be part of their journey.
“We’ve seen many people when they first arrive in the UK who are mentally distressed, traumatised and have physical health problems.
“When they come through this and you see them come out the other side, and they’re completely changed and feeling really positive, that’s really nice to see.”
Mental Health Nurse Becky Harris said: “In terms of people’s mental health, the most common thing we see is post-traumatic stress disorder.
“That could be caused by something that led to them fleeing their country – war, persecution, violence, exploitation.
“Or it could be several traumas. For example, what led them to flee and what happened to them on the journey to the UK.
“The crossing itself is fraught with danger, with many traumatised by seeing people drown, facing the violence of traffickers and separation from family.
“In some cultures, mental health is not talked about or recognised, and people may present with a problem and they do not know it’s connected to their mental health.”
It takes time to build their trust and get people to the point of recognising the need for help.
Refugees and people seeking asylum face additional challenges, such as language barriers and the differences between accessing health care from the NHS compared to in their home countries.
It’s also not always easy for them to obtain every day medicines such as paracetamol for minor ailments because they have limited financial support.
The NHS Health Outreach team registers new arrivals with local GPs, carry out vaccinations, health screening, treatment for wounds, and mental health assessments, and provide health advice.
They work very closely with local doctors and healthcare services to make sure people receive the care they need.
They also have links with Suffolk Refugee Support, and organisations that support refugees and asylum seekers with housing and other needs.
The outreach team connect people to mainstream services and help them to access appropriate health care. For some this can be straight forward, and for others access is more complicated and complex.
The team only discharge clients once they are able to independently access services.
Fatima Alaswad, aged 65, and her family are refugees from Syria. They fled to Jordan and came to the UK in April 2023 as part of the UK Government’s Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme.
Fatima has diabetes, heart problems, arthritis, and poor mobility. The outreach team organised assessments and appointments with diabetes services, podiatry, ophthalmology, physiotherapy, and occupational therapists.
Staff accompanied her to appointments, and taught her and her family how to access NHS care and manage her medications. They also applied for her to get a bus pass to help her maintain her independence.
The family were discharged from the team’s care in mid-August and are now settled in Ipswich.
Fatima said: “Their support was excellent. They came to my home to take me to my appointments and check my health conditions and regular monitoring of my sugar levels, diabetes, and blood pressure.
“It was very important for me because I don’t speak English and I don’t know places here as well. So the nurse came to me every time and took me to my appointments.”
Becky, who supported Fatima and her family, loves her job so much that she commutes from Norwich to Ipswich. As well as asylum seekers and refugees, she also works with homeless people and vulnerable women.
Becky, who joined the outreach team after completing a student placement with them in 2021, said: “We get the privilege of advocating for people that don’t have a voice.
“They are marginalised by having complex health conditions, and then other things like not having a fixed abode, leading chaotic lives, not speak the language, or the UK health systems are not set up to meet needs that don’t fall within the mainstream.
“We act as advocates for people that don’t have a voice and understand the difficulties they go through.”