The Sanctuary, a GP surgery that caters exclusively for refugees and asylum seekers, opened at the John Scott Health Centre in the London Borough of Hackney last week.
The practice is the first of its kind in London and was set up by Hackney Primary Care Trust to cater for the growing population of refugees and asylum seekers in the Finsbury Park area of Hackney.
Most of the practice's patients will come from the nearby Pembury Hotel, run by the United Kingdom's Refugee Council, where up to 250 refugees and asylum seekers live.
Dr Angela Burnett, lead GP at the practice (pictured above, right, with Muhammed and Waheeda Lal from Afghanistan), has worked for seven years with the Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture and also works for Amnesty International. She said: “One of the difficulties is that our patients are not able to settle in one place when they arrive, and it is hard for primary care centres to look after them.”
ULRIKE PREUSS