From dontcensortom at gmail.com Mon Mar 2 12:18:36 2009 From: dontcensortom at gmail.com (Tom Yates) Date: Mon, 2 Mar 2009 12:18:36 +0000 Subject: [Alma Mata] Defense union warns GPs against turning patients away Message-ID: Important information that will be of interest to many Almamata members... Risk Alert: GPs should not police healthcare access 26 February 2009 http://www.mddus.com/mddus/news-and-events/notice-board/february-2009/riskalert02-09.aspx MDDUS advises that GPs should not police access to NHS healthcare for failed asylum seekers and other vulnerable migrants. This advice comes in response to recent comment from the Royal College of General Practitioners on government strategy aimed at charging or restricting access to NHS care for overseas visitors. Regulations from the Department of Health (England) which came into force on 1 April 2004 identified groups who were not considered "lawfully resident" in the UK and made them liable for National Health Service hospital charges. A later consultation proposed extending the charging regime to GP services. There has been no formal government response to the 2004 consultation but a cross-Government enforcement strategy (entitled ?Enforcing the Rules?) has been recently published. This suggests that primary care be brought into line with the regulations that exist for secondary care. The Home Office document describes the purpose of the strategy as "To ensure that living illegally becomes ever more uncomfortable and constrained until they leave or are removed". MDDUS in support of the RCGP view advises that GPs have a duty of care to all people seeking healthcare and "should not be expected to police access to healthcare and turn people away when they are at their most vulnerable". The GMC states in Good Medical Practice: "You must give priority to the investigation and treatment of patients on the basis of clinical need, when such decisions are within your power". Making judgements on eligibility to necessary treatment should not be a primary concern of doctors faced with sick patients. Indeed MDDUS has defended cases on the behalf of members where refusing or delaying treatment on the basis of eligibility has led to claims of negligence. ACTION: Prioritise the treatment of patients on the basis of need rather than considerations of legal eligibility. From emilyspry at gmail.com Wed Mar 11 09:32:48 2009 From: emilyspry at gmail.com (Emily Spry) Date: Wed, 11 Mar 2009 09:32:48 +0000 Subject: [Alma Mata] The Illegals - Friday 20th March In-Reply-To: <7f0ea0720903100547r4ebc9856p1ab5a9ad96ce3dfd@mail.gmail.com> References: <7f0ea0720903100547r4ebc9856p1ab5a9ad96ce3dfd@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: *THE ILLEGALS* Friday 20th March, 5.45pm Lower Refectory, UCL Wilkins Building (See map attached, nearest tube Euston Square) Come along to a Medsin UCL/Global Health Advocacy Project/Defend Primary Healthcare Campaign event in association with Actors for Human Rights and Medecins du Monde Iceandfire Theatre Company's outreach network, Actors for Human Rights, presents excerpts from their two plays:* Asylum Monologues* and *The Illegals*, which present first-hand accounts of people seeking sanctuary in the UK and people living and working here without papers. Followed by a talk by *Medecins du Monde* on access to health care for vulnerable migrants. Please come early for free food and drinks and a chance to browse stalls provided by NGOs involved in migrant issues including the Refugee Council, Medicins du Monde, Medact, Medical Justice, StAR and the Helen Bamber Foundation. The evening is aimed at all students and health professionals with an interest in healthcare access issues for vulnerable groups, but EVERYONE is invited to what will be an entertaining, educational and motivating event. The event will be FREE (we will be collecting donations) but places are limited, so please email Lizzmoore84 at gmail.com to reserve your seats. Find out more about The Illegals and Actors for Human Rights at: www.iceandfire.co.uk/afhr/productions.html#Illegals -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: ucl map.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 141740 bytes Desc: not available URL: From emilyspry at gmail.com Wed Mar 11 09:40:19 2009 From: emilyspry at gmail.com (Emily Spry) Date: Wed, 11 Mar 2009 09:40:19 +0000 Subject: [Alma Mata] The Illegals - Friday 20th March In-Reply-To: References: <7f0ea0720903100547r4ebc9856p1ab5a9ad96ce3dfd@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: PS. the play will start at 6.30pm, with refreshments and stalls to browse from 5.45pm. On 11/03/2009, Emily Spry wrote: > > *THE ILLEGALS* > > Friday 20th March, 5.45pm > > Lower Refectory, UCL Wilkins Building (See map attached, nearest tube > Euston Square) > > Come along to a Medsin UCL/Global Health Advocacy Project/Defend Primary > Healthcare Campaign event in association with Actors for Human Rights and > Medecins du Monde > > Iceandfire Theatre Company's outreach network, Actors for Human Rights, > presents excerpts from their two plays:* Asylum Monologues* and *The > Illegals*, which present first-hand accounts of people seeking sanctuary > in the UK and people living and working here without papers. > > Followed by a talk by *Medecins du Monde* on access to health care for > vulnerable migrants. > > Please come early for free food and drinks and a chance to browse stalls > provided by NGOs involved in migrant issues including the Refugee Council, > Medicins du Monde, Medact, Medical Justice, StAR and the Helen Bamber > Foundation. > > The evening is aimed at all students and health professionals with an > interest in healthcare access issues for vulnerable groups, but EVERYONE is > invited to what will be an entertaining, educational and motivating event. > > The event will be FREE (we will be collecting donations) but places are > limited, so please email Lizzmoore84 at gmail.com to reserve your seats. > > Find out more about The Illegals and Actors for Human Rights at: > www.iceandfire.co.uk/afhr/productions.html#Illegals > > -- Dr Emily Spry Supervising Council Member, IFMSA ~ Alma Mata ~ Global Health Graduates Network ~ www.almamata.net * Medical Justice * Seeking basic rights for immigration detainees www.medicaljustice.org.uk From emilyspry at gmail.com Fri Mar 13 15:44:10 2009 From: emilyspry at gmail.com (Emily Spry) Date: Fri, 13 Mar 2009 15:44:10 +0000 Subject: [Alma Mata] Alma Mata Global Health Newsletter - March 2009 Message-ID: Dear Alma Mata Members, I hope that you are all doing well. We are busy developing a picture of what UK junior doctors would like to see in the future in terms of *global health training*. Thanks very much to all those who responded to the draft proposals that I sent around. We will be having various meetings with Dept of Health, BMA and others in the next few months to try to put our case forwards ? we?ll let you know how that goes. We are keen to have global health training available to all doctors that can be combined with your core speciality. Below are some excellent events and opportunities, so make sure that you have a good look. As ever, get in touch if you have any suggestions about what health professionals who are passionate about global health need or should be doing. Have a great month, *Emily, on behalf of the Alma Mata working group* PS if you are interested in global health, why not consider joining the working group? We are open to new members who would like to do some work e.g. interviewing people for the website. Drop me a line: emilyspry at gmail.com *Contents: MARCH 2009* *NEWS *? scroll down for details - Refused asylum seekers access to NHS care prior to deportation - Physicians for Human Rights ? Israel - Put public healthcare first *EVENTS* ? scroll down for details - Annual Conference of Public Health Medicine, 20th March - MduM: Mobilizing Healthcare Professionals and Activists, 21st March - Broadening your horizons: taking time out to work in developing countries, 23rd March - National Conference for NHS Health Links, 2nd April - Peace History- Lessons form the past, hope for the future, 24th & 25th April - Human Right to Health Conference, 14th and 15th May *OPPORTUNITIES/JOBS* ? scroll down for details - MSF UK: Job opportunity - Africa Health Placements - 12 month placements in Rural South Africa - Short course in Global Health Advocacy, 30th March to 4th April *NEWS/CAMPAIGNS* *Refused asylum seekers access to NHS care prior to deportation.* Refused asylum seekers are currently (March 09) entitled to access NHS services. An important amendment has been tabled to the Health Bill which would mean, whatever the outcome of the judicial review appeal, refused asylum seekers will still be able to access NHS hospital care whilst they await removal. There is a briefing about this amendment from the Still Human Still Here campaign which can be downloaded from www.medsin.org/defendprimaryhealthcare. You can support amendment 130 by writing to your MP, using the template letter which you can download from www.medsin.org/defendprimaryhealthcare. Find out who your MP is at www.theyworkforyou.com. *Physicians for Human Rights-Israel* need our support as they oppose and try to counter the effects on the civilian population of violence by Israel, Hamas and other armed Palestinian groups. For a good, UK-based blog with the latest news and information, visit http://friendsofphri.blogspot.com/ *Put public healthcare first.* Oxfam?s new policy paper focuses on the arguments for supporting free public health care over private provision in health systems. "Blind Optimism ? Challenging the myths of privatisation of health care in developing countries" is about to be launched in Washington to the IMF, World Bank and other key players in health policy in the developing world. Read the report: www.oxfam.org.uk/publicfirst and sign the online petition to Douglas Alexander www.oxfam.org.uk/get_involved/campaign/actions/unison.html *EVENTS* *Annual Conference of Public Health Medicine*, Friday 20 March 2009, BMA, London There will be three themes to this year's conference; public health and the workplace; public health and the media and public health training. Speakers will include Professor Dame Carol Black and Dr Tammy Boyce from the King's Fund. There will also be an opportunity to debate motions which will be forwarded to the Annual Representative Meeting. Fee: free to BMA members, non members ?25. Contact: Will Frost, PHMC Secretariat on wfrost at bma.org.ukor on 020 7383 6158. *Medecins du Monde Conference: Mobilizing Healthcare Professionals and Activists* 10am to 6pm, Saturday 21st March 2009, 65 Fleet Street, London. Programme to include Jon Snow, Broadcaster, chairing a debate on whether the UK should deport terminally ill patients. See www.medecinsdumonde.org.uk or call 020 7515 7534 for details. *Broadening your horizons: taking time out to work and train in developing countries* 1pm to 4pm, Monday 23rd March, BMA House London. Free. Only open to BMA Junior Doctors. This conference will feature presentations from key stakeholders from medical education and employment, followed by a series of workshops to inform and advise doctors in training. Copies of the BMA guidance on time out of programme will also be available at the event. For further information or to book your place on-line please click on http://www.bma.org.uk/whats_on/international09.jsp *THET National Conference for NHS Health Links*, Thursday 2nd April 2009 from 10.30 to 17.00 at Cardiff University, Wales. To fill a booking form and for all enquiries please contact Sharon Horder, Charity Administrator: sharon at thet.org Registration fee ?20, including lunch. *Medicine Overseas*, Friday 17 April 2009, Royal Society of Medicine, London The RSM Catastrophes & Conflict Forum presents this one day conference for all doctors and medical students who have or hope to work overseas. Speakers include Jonathan Kaplam, war surgeon and author of ?The Dressing Station?, Alexander and Chris Van Tulleken, Stars of Channel 4 TV series 'Medicine men go wild' and others from ICRC, Merlin, MSF etc. Fee ?75 for non-members including lunch and refreshments. Book online www.rsm.ac.uk/catastrophes *Peace History- Lessons form the past, hope for the future*, 24th and 25th April 2009, Imperial War Museum, London. A programme organized by the International Peace Bureau and the Movement for the Abolition of War in association with the Imperial War Museum. Registration fees: two days ?30- one day ?25. For details and booking visit www.abolishwar.org.uk *The Human Right to Health Conference*, 14th and 15th May 2009, UCL The human right to health brings together three distinct groups with a common interest: health care professionals and health activists, who use the idea of a human right to health in their work; human rights lawyers and political scientists, who have an understanding of human rights law and institutions; and political philosophers who can consider the conceptual and foundational aspects of human rights. Speakers include Peter Hall (Doctors for Human Rights), Richard Horton (The Lancet) and Paul Hunt (UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health 2002-8). For more information, and to register, go to http://www.ucl.ac.uk/cpjh/human-rights-conf *OPPORTUNITIES/JOBS* *MSF UK Programmes advisor on Health Policy and Practice* 24 month position available working for MSF in London. See attachment for details. Closing date: Monday 13th April 2009. *Africa Health Placements (AHP)* is a not-for-profit project that aims to support the recruitment and retention of public sector health professionals in Africa. If you're a medical doctor and would like to investigate the possibility of working in a rural area in South Africa for at least 12 months (e.g. between F2 and ST1), visit the site. http://www.rhi.org.za/ *'People, politics and Global Health; Actions to change the approach'*, a six day short course for health activists, scheduled for London, 30th March to 4th April, 2009. The programme is based on the People's Charter for Health (PCH). The course will explore the meaning of the PCH; analyse the challenges it presents and develop resources and strategies for the struggle for Health For All. Find out more at http://www.phmovement.org/iphu/en/london -- Dr Emily Spry ~ Alma Mata ~ Global Health Graduates Network ~ www.almamata.net -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: MSF Progs Advisor Health and Policy.doc Type: application/msword Size: 68608 bytes Desc: not available URL: From tim.killeen at doctors.org.uk Fri Mar 20 10:41:57 2009 From: tim.killeen at doctors.org.uk (Tim Killeen) Date: Fri, 20 Mar 2009 10:41:57 +0000 Subject: [Alma Mata] Medsin National Conference Manchester - Healthy Interventions Message-ID: <49C372F5.7070802@almamata.net> Dear Alma Mata members, Our partners at Medsin are hosting another fabulous conference this month. Please forward this email to your student colleagues and direct them to the conference website: www.ghc09.org . "From March 28th to 29th 2009, Medsin Manchester will host over 550 delegates from around the UK for two days of topical and controversial debates, workshops, campaigns and exhibitions. The focus of this year?s conference is 'Healthy Interventions', using contemporary case studies to illustrate controversial issues: Should the Sudanese government have had the right to refuse international aid to Darfur? Should military action accompany humanitarian interventions? How can organisations responsible for supplying aid be held accountable for the money they receive? Never have these issues been more important than in the current global climate. Panels of experts including Rony Brauman (director of Medecins Sans Frontier in Paris and former president of MSF France), Major General Alan Hawley (head of the army medical services) and Professor Michael Woolcock, (Director of the Brooks World Poverty Centre), will engage with the delegates in animated discussions held at University Place, Manchester?s new state of the art, environmentally friendly conference venue. Medsin is also excited to be hosting an exhibition of powerful portraits and photo stories taken by Africa-based photographer Frederic Courbet for Merlin, the international medical aid agency. The exhibition - The Forgotten Crisis- provides an incredible insight into the lives of health workers and people from the Central African Republic, a forgotten country in the heart of Africa, and is part of Merlin's Hands Up for Health Workers campaign. Have you photographed health disparities, health barriers or emergencies? In conjunction with InterRailNet.com, we are running a photo competition; we?re looking for keen photographers to send in photos of their experiences of global health issues. The first prize is two first class, 22 day InterRailNet.com Global Passes, and the best photos will be exhibited at the conference! Send entries with a caption of up to 50 words to: ghcphotocomp at live.co.uk with your name and university. The conference aims to build awareness of international health issues both abroad and within the UK with a view to provide better patient care and understanding among doctors of the future. The conference website at www.ghc09.org has all the information you?ll need, as well as being an engaging arena to learn about and discuss issues in global health." From jienchino at googlemail.com Tue Mar 24 22:57:36 2009 From: jienchino at googlemail.com (Jienchi Dorward) Date: Tue, 24 Mar 2009 22:57:36 +0000 Subject: [Alma Mata] Global Health Training Questionnaire and delicious prize draw! Message-ID: <89778660903241557l5abf01d0w332ea756d5a9f959@mail.gmail.com> Are you a UK doctor/medical student with an interest in Global Health? Would you like to win a case of 6 bottles of Fairtrade wine or a Fairtrade Taste of India hamper*? Alma Mata (almamata.net) is a network of healthcare professionals with an interest in Global Health. Please take 5 minutes to fill out our questionnaire about your career plans and global health training opportunities you would like to see. The results will help guide our work to improve global health training. Click hereto do the questionnaire, or copy and paste following into your browser address bar: www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=60MN6uJ4tmci7an6bilLNA_3d_3d Further information on our Global Health training proposal is available at the end of the questionnaire, where you will also be able to enter a prize draw for a case of 6 bottles of Fairtrade wine or a Fairtrade Taste of India hamper*. The deadline for completing the questionnaire is *Saturday 4th April*. * www.ethicalsuperstore.com/products/ethicalsuperstore-select/a-taste-of-india-organic-gift-hamper/ -- Jienchi Dorward Email: jienchino at gmail.com Tel: +447889897261 Skype: jienchi