Provision of services to asylum seekers. Are there lessons from the experience with Kosovan refugees?

摘要

Similar social circumslances of immigranls may trigger dissimilar political responses and levels of resources from host countries. Necessary political commitment and provision of adequate resources by the UK government made it possible to provide a more formalised service provision and coordinated response for the Kosovan Refugees. However, it is becoming increasingly difficult to provide basic services for asylum seekers sent to different parts of the country following the dispersal scheme under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999. In this paper we discuss some of the support arrangements available to asylum seekers, the problems encountered by primary care providers and health authorities, and the lessons learnt from arrangements for Kosovan refugees. It is concluded that similar, arrangements to those established for the Kosovan refugees should be put in place for asylum seekers, and some recommendations are made on how this could be done.