Access to and provision of appropriate mental health care for these diverse groups is lacking in many areas. The view presented is that current government policy is ‘inherently contradictory,’ on the one hand recognising that refugees and asylum seekers experience particular vulnerability in terms of their mental health, but on the other creating an environment ‘which is having a devastating impact’ on the mental health of these individuals.
After arrival in the UK, refugees and asylum seekers can face extended periods of uncertainty about their future as their applications are processed, and may spend time in detention centres or be ‘dispersed’ to areas of the UK where they have no support network, friends or family. Other factors contributing to their social exclusion include overcrowded or inadequate accommodation, lack of access to English classes, being prohibited from working, and destitution.
The report argues that there are insufficient appropriate services available in many areas to meet the high levels of mental health needs amongst the refugee and asylum seeker population. There is widespread confusion about which healthcare services they can access for free, resulting in many not getting the health care they are entitled to, and some only getting access to mental health care if they are sectioned. Further barriers to access include lack of interpreters, lack of skill and knowledge amongst mainstream health workers about the particular needs of those with experience of trauma and/or torture, and lack of culturally appropriate mental health services.
In order to show how these barriers might be overcome, Mind cites examples of services across the UK which offer specialist help for the mental health needs of refugees and asylum seekers. The authors suggest that steps be taken by PCTs to ensure compulsory training of frontline staff on refugee healthcare needs and the use of interpreting services, to provide psychological therapies in appropriate languages, and to ensure that partnerships with refugee support organisations are fostered. They also recommend that government ensure free access to healthcare regardless of status of asylum application (including refused asylum seekers with severe needs).
To download the publication visit MIND’s website.