Angela Eagle’s one liner shut down Tory MP Sarah Bool
Sarah Bool, the Tory MP for South Northamptonshire, has been shut down for falsely claiming migrants receive priority access to NHS services.
This follows reports last week in the Telegraph, Daily Mail, and Daily Express, which said that migrants are able to ‘skip’ queues at A&E, use walk-in services, and register with GPs.
Yesterday in a question to Angela Eagle, the immigration minister, Bool asked: “Does the Secretary of State believe it is fair that undocumented illegal migrants get priority access to the NHS over British taxpayers?”.
In response, Eagle said: “Mr Speaker, they don’t”.
A study carried out by researchers at King’s College London in 2022 found that refugees, asylum seekers and undocumented migrants face barriers to accessing NHS care.
These include needing to provide proof of ID or an address to register with a GP or access NHS care, discouraging many from using services due to fear of being deported.
In addition, migrants from outside the EU can be charged for NHS care, such as antenatal care, operations, and services from specialist clinics.
A spokesman for the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) told The Telegraph: “It is vital that all vulnerable members of society, including asylum seekers, are able to access the healthcare they need, and it has been a legal requirement under successive governments for local NHS commissioners to take the right steps through individual contracts to enable this.
“Our £26 billion investment in the NHS and reforms to the health service will make sure that it’s there for everyone, once again.”
An NHS spokesperson told the Daily Express that “The NHS is legally required to provide healthcare services to asylum seekers which are free at the point of use”.
They added: “ICBs also have a legal duty to address inequalities in access to NHS services, which can include rolling out dedicated services to communities experiencing the worst health inequities, while also supporting all those who need care.”
Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward
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