Responding to the needs of refugees

Knowledge of and skills in human rights medicine will be needed At the time of writing it is unclear how many people will eventually receive refuge in Britain from encampments in countries surrounding Syria through the UN vulnerable persons relocation scheme. The government’s current commitment to receive a maximum of 20 000 over five years, if delivered at a constant rate, would result in 4000 arrivals a year.1 It is also unclear when they will arrive and what financial and other arrangements are being made for local councils to support them. But even if the UK maintains its decision to opt out of the EU refugee sharing scheme, the number of asylum seekers reaching the UK by other routes may increase, given that more than half a million people seeking protection arrived in Europe by sea in 2015. Whatever the numbers, many will have high levels of complex physical, psychological, social, and legal needs arising from their experiences in their countries of origin …