Advocacy - Doctors of the World

With our patients, volunteer doctors and nurses, and supporters, we call on the Government and public bodies to protect and promote the right to healthcare and campaign for the changes needed to ensure everyone living in the UK can access the healthcare they need.

We empower NHS staff to provide healthcare for everyone in their community. Our resources and training support doctors, nurses and administrative staff to better understand the barriers that prevent people from accessing healthcare, empowering them to advocate on behalf of excluded patients.

Drawing on our ground-breaking research and our patient’s experiences, we work to influence national policies to ensure that everyone can access their right to healthcare without experiencing financial hardship, providing evidence of unmet healthcare needs, violence and injustices, and presenting practical solutions and policy recommendations.

We do this by responding to consultations, submitting evidence to inquiries, attending meetings with ministers, and giving evidence to select committees.

Access to Primary Care

We oppose any plans to charge people to access primary care, and will continue to engage with policymakers to ensure that nobody in England is prevented from seeing a GP.

Entitlement to Secondary Care Services

At our clinic, we see patients in desperate need of medical attention but who are too scared of running up huge debts to see a doctor. Debts to the NHS are reported to the Home Office and used against people in immigration applications.

Immigration enforcement in the NHS

We continue to campaign against the use of NHS records, staff and services in immigration enforcement, and to ensure any new data-sharing agreements meets the medical ethics standards set out by the General Medical Council.