Collating perspectives on migrant access to healthcare during the coronavirus pandemic
What are we doing?
The COVID19 pandemic is an international emergency. We want to live in a world where everyone’s health is valued, and where no one is afraid to access the health care they need.
We are asking 10 health workers and migrant rights’ campaigners to share their knowledge and experience about the impact of the coronavirus crisis on:
— migrant access to healthcare,
— on healthcare workers themselves, and
— what a response based on international solidarity should look like.
We want to draw on similarities and show solidarity between campaigns working towards universal healthcare, and to promote amazing successes like those in Ireland and Portugal, where immigration policing in healthcare has been stopped during the COVID19 crisis.
We’re inviting contributions from across the world, including India, Spain, USA and the UK. We’ll use the responses to make short social media videos, one ‘teaser’ promotional video and a longer report video exploring each issue outlined above.
Docs Not Cops (www.docsnotcops.co.uk) is a UK-based grassroots organisation campaigning for free healthcare for all, and against restrictions to the National Health Service that erode universal healthcare. We will use these videos as part of our ‘Patients Not Passports’ campaign in England with our partners Medact, Migrants Organise, and the New Economics Foundation.
We would like you to please:
- Record yourself for our promotional ‘teaser’ video (see step 1 below)
- Respond to our questions for the longer report video (this can be on video or in writing, step 2)
- In 2 weeks we’ll come back and ask you to record 1 or 2 more lines for the final videos
How to record your video:
- You can use your phone, or a friends if they have a better camera
- Record your video in landscape (your phone on it’s side).
- Wear something that identifies you as a health worker, or be in a healthcare setting.
- Leave 3-5 seconds video time before and after the recording,
speak slowly and clearly, to help with editing - Send the video to docsnotcops@gmail.com (don’t send on whatsapp)
Step 1 – promotional ‘teaser’ video
- Looking into the camera, please read the short phrases below, in English and also your own language.
- please leave a 5 second gap between each one
— “Patients Not Passports!”
— “No one should be afraid to access healthcare!”
— “Healthcare must be free for all!” - Please send us this video before Friday 17th April 2020
Step 2 – Report video questions
- Answer the following questions below (either by video, or in writing)
- There is no fixed time limit, but please try to keep your video to less than 5 minutes).
- We will be back in touch if you reply in writing, or if we want to repeat any of your video, to help with the editing.
Questions
What’s happening where you are?
- What is your name
- Which town/city and country are you working in?
- What is your normal specialty, or job role? How has this changed during the COVID crisis?
- Was your hospital/health system prepared for a pandemic? If not, why?
- Do you have everything you need to do your job right now? If not, why?
Access to Healthcare
- What impact has this crisis had on migrant access to healthcare?
- What are the barriers stopping migrants accessing healthcare?
- What action is being taken to combat this, from healthcare workers and migrant communities?
- Has the Government responded to this action or change any policies during the crisis?
- What do you think the solution should be?
International Solidarity
- Are you worried about how COVID-19 will affect countries in the Global South, specifically those with weakened health systems?
- What kind of solidarity can we extend to those countries and people within those countries?
- How do you think that countries and people around the world can work together to combat this pandemic, and to ensure situations like this don’t happen again?
- What message do you want to send to your colleagues around the world?
How we will use the video
- We’ll produce a promotional ‘teaser’ video, cut together from clips from all contributors
- We’ll produce a longer ‘report’ video exploring each of the three areas outlined above
- These videos will be used on Twitter, Facebook and posted on the blog section of our website www.docsnotcops.co.uk along with our allies websites (New Economics Foundation, Migrants Organise, MedAct)
- We will produce a short promotional video for an event we are co-organising with our allies in the UK to release a report into international struggles for universal healthcare.
Thank you very much for reading the proposal, looking forward to hearing from you!