The Colombian community in London - Geography - Queen Mary ...

ACCESSING SERVICES AND ROLE OF MIGRANT COMMUNITY ORGANISATIONS
Accessing health care
Although the vast majority of Colombians had access to a GP, it is still significant that 13% did
not. 15 Those without access tended to be irregular migrants who were afraid to approach a GP
for fear of deportation. However, the issue of quality of care is also important. A common
complaint was that health professionals were not interventionist enough and that they often
only prescribed painkillers. For instance, 29 year old Jorge (interviewed in 2010) spoke about
how he was treated when he had an ankle injury:
„You should only go to the GP if you are dying. The GP has no use for me, if you sick,
you are sick. I tried to go when I hurt my ankle, I went to an emergency GP and I had
to wait 6 hours as it more swollen and bruised. They told me I wouldn‟t die and to go
home. They did check it but they just gave me a tablet, nothing else, no x-rays,
nothing‟.
This lack of faith is the system is partly reflected in the fact that 33% had also used a private
doctor, of which 17% were Latin Americans. 16 Indeed, when asked why they used private
doctors, the largest proportion mentioned a better quality service (50%), followed by trust
(18%) and language (11%) (see Figure 13). Although the numbers are small, it is important to
note that those working in elementary jobs were more likely to use private services (19%) than
those professional and managerial positions (9%). This suggests that income is not a major
reason for such consultation.
Also very important is that 36% of people reported using health services in their home country
when they travelled there. This tended to be dental treatments as well as full physical checkups.
For example, 42 year-old Milena from Cali (interviewed in 2007) spoke about how she
returned home every two years to get dental treatment and to see her private doctor who gave
her a full check-up. She also went to a dermatologist.
Figure 13: Reasons for using private doctor
Better quality service
Lack of papers
Language
Trust
Other
Source: Questionnaire survey (N=28)
15 GP practices have discretion on who to register as patients. However, having a legal immigration
status is not a requirement for registering.
16 In the UK as a whole the vast majority of consultations with a doctor are done through the NHS
rather than privately. For example, in the General Lifestyle Survey 2008 only 3% of people who
reported seeing a doctor in the 14 days before the survey went to a private doctor.
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