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Top doctors have identified Britain\u2019s immigration system as a \u201cpublic mental health concern\u201d that inflicts harm on asylum seekers, and risks \u201cre-traumatising\u201d those already affected by psychological distress.<\/p>\n

The Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCP) has called on ministers to review immigration laws introduced by the last government, saying Labour had a \u201cmoral and ethical obligation\u201d to protect the mental health of those seeking sanctuary in the UK.<\/p>\n

\u201cA robust immigration policy can still be guided by human kindness, that is fair and compassionate,\u201d said Dr Lade Smith, the RCP president.<\/p>\n

Smith said many asylum seekers had left countries where they had experienced violence, rape, imprisonment and torture, before enduring further trauma on hazardous journeys to the UK, sometimes at the hands of people traffickers.<\/p>\n

As a result it was unsurprising that many asylum seekers experienced mental illness and were at risk of re-traumatisation because of the treatment they received on arrival. It was the UK\u2019s duty to make their lives \u201cbetter and not worse\u201d, she said.<\/p>\n

While the new government had made some welcome policy shifts, including scrapping plans to send asylum seekers to Rwanda<\/a>, a raft of immigration legislation introduced since 2022 remained in place, she said.<\/p>\n

These laws criminalised asylum seekers who did not arrive in the UK through established routes, created a more onerous asylum process, and introduced provisions to enable the processing of asylum claims in so-called \u201cthird\u201d countries.<\/p>\n

The mental wellbeing of asylum seekers came under the spotlight last year after the suicide of a resident<\/a> in the Bibby Stockholm floating accommodation barge in Dorset, which was notorious for its poor living conditions. The barge is to close<\/a> in January.<\/p>\n

A report to be published by the RCP this week criticises conditions in asylum seeker hotels and some \u201cprison-like\u201d detention facilities in which physical and social isolation, sleep deprivation and surveillance of residents are common.<\/p>\n

It warns that the new government has not repealed the Illegal Migration Act which paved the way for asylum seekers to be sent to Rwanda. This leaves open the possibility it might in the future push through forced removals to so-called \u201csafe third countries\u201d.<\/p>\n

There was evidence from Australia that in cases where asylum seekers were removed to offshore locations for claims processing, they then had high rates of post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and self-harm, the report says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe government has a moral and ethical obligation to ensure all immigration legislation explicitly protects and supports those with mental illness,\u201d it adds.<\/p>\n

Smith said: \u201cAs is clear from our report, we particularly welcome the government\u2019s commitment to repeal the Rwanda legislation, as it did not allow those seeking sanctuary to be appropriately assessed and treated for any existing mental illness.\u201d<\/p>\n

She added: \u201cThe report sets out recommendations that, if adopted by policymakers, and implemented by mental health services and its clinicians, would mitigate some of the harms caused by the process of seeking asylum.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Home Office spokesperson said: \u201cMental health support is available to all asylum seekers through Migrant Help, and welfare officers are available around the clock to help too. We will, of course, look at any report and make improvements where necessary.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Source: www.theguardian.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Top doctors have identified Britain\u2019s immigration system as a \u201cpublic mental health concern\u201d that inflicts harm on asylum seekers, and risks \u201cre-traumatising\u201d those already affected by psychological distress. The Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCP) has called on ministers to review immigration laws introduced by the last government, saying Labour had a \u201cmoral and ethical obligation\u201d…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":93148,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"WB4WB4WP_MODE":"","WB4WP_PAGE_SCRIPTS":"","WB4WP_PAGE_STYLES":"","WB4WP_PAGE_FONTS":"","WB4WP_PAGE_HEADER":"","WB4WP_PAGE_FOOTER":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-93147","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy"],"yoast_head":"\n