BMA is in denial

doi:10.1136/bmj.39346.502141.3A

BMJ 2007;335:629 (29 September), doi:10.1136/bmj.39346.502141.3A

Letters

Asylum seekers' health rights

BMA is in denial

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Despite the evidence that the 2004 charging regulations thatbar access to free NHS hospital care violate refused asylumseekers' human rights,¹ the BMA has never acknowledged the fact.Now the government has raised the stakes immeasurably²—theyears of confusion, procrastination, hounding, and denial ofhospital care³ will appear small beer if its threat to alsoban access to free primary care is implemented this October,as is widely expected.

An unconscionable disconnect exists between BMA high profilesupport for health rights, as reflected by Mary Robinson's prestigiouslaunch of the BMA's Right to Health: a Toolkit for Health Professionals,⁴and apparent institutional resistance to incorporate healthrights into policy. As the toolkit says, the right to the highestattainable standard of health is a fundamental human right,protected by international law, and the state must refrain fromdenying equal access for asylum seekers and illegal immigrants.

The . . . [Full text of this article]

Peter L Hall, chair, Doctors for Human Rights

Pasque Hospice, Luton LU3 3NT

peterhall@doctorsforhumanrights.org