Migration Yorkshire have just launched the new Migrant Information Hub – www.migrantinfohub.co.uk.
The Migrant Information Hub aims to offer useful information and resources to help migrants, and those supporting them, to stay safe, connected and informed, and to reduce the harmful impacts of coronavirus (Covid-19) on our region and on people’s lives. It includes new multi-lingual resources, national guidance, local services and support, plus news and updates on specific migrant issues.
We would be grateful if you would circulate details of this resource as widely as possible.
In this post, we will keep you updated regarding the following services:
Health team, Education/children and young people team, voluntary sector, post decision, immigration advice, Mears, Migrant Help and Home Office.
Health
Whitehouse centre, NHS, TB and Health visiting team
Registered patients The practice is open but we are asking patients not to come to the practice. We are managing patients by phone. Anyone needing advice or assessment can call 03330436243 (8am to 6pm Monday to Friday). We are using telephone interpreters. Ideally patients should use 111 for coronavirus assessment but we are also happy to take calls if it is not easy for them to use 111.
Asylum Seekers needing to register Asylum seekers should continue to register. We have reduced the amount of paperwork required.
Ideally these could be completed by accommodation providers. In the email they could also alert us to any concerns and indicate if the client needs an urgent telephone call from us.
The crucial information we need is:
Name, DOB, Gender, Place of birth, Telephone number, Any previous address in the UK, Enough details of previous GP if there is one (so we do not create another record), Date of arrival in UK, Signature ideally (but not essentially given the situation if creates workload).
This form can be emailed to us at LCP.locala-WhitehouseCentre@nhs.net. If possible a scanned copy of any Home Office or Mears documentation is highly recommended. It will help us make sure we get the names and details correct.
We will send the patient a text message when they have been registered to explain how to contact us.
Other queries Please feel free to email us if you have a question about a Kirklees asylum seeker and their health. Emergency matters can be assessed under ‘urgent and necessary care’ if the patient is not registered with us. This will be by phone initially.
NHS-CCG
“Appointments at your local doctors are now being held on the phone or online. If you have an appointment with a nurse or doctor they will contact you. Please do not walk into your doctors or health centre for any reason without being told to attend. If you have any health concerns you can use the NHS online tool which will help give advice https://111.nhs.uk/ before you call your doctors.”
Health Visiting: Business as usual. We continue to offer movement in visits, birth visits and Antenatal contacts face to face as long as the families are not self-isolating or showing any symptoms. We can skype the contact though. www.thrivingkirklees.org.uk/0-19-team T: 03033 309440
In addition, some of the drop-in session of the voluntary sector organisation have been cancelled as well for now such as: 611, Reach and Connecting Opportunities.
However, there is a level of support available support locally specifically for asylum seekers via our fantastic Voluntary Sector:
DASH All drop-in session are now closed. Service: Telephone calls only. 07702 382 647 or 07926 457 599 (Unfortunately, no food parcel, no donations and no volunteers.)
Volunteers Together Service: By telephone only 07804867564. When: Wednesday 11:00 till 16:00
Womens Centre: Service: Over the phone only 0148 450866 When: Calls from 9 until 3 or 4 depending on staff capacity. Emotional support and not crisis support for existing clients. Unfortunately they will not be accepting any new clients.
Welcome Mentors Welcome Mentor referrals will continue to be accepted and Mentors will be assigned/matched. However, in the current position the vast majority of support will be provided via the telephone.
Meet try and learn Final session will be delivered on Thursday 19th March. The project will return when social distancing measures are removed.
This Way 4 English The sessions will continue to be provided, however the support will be more generic to advise migrants who seek support during the COVID outbreak. The sessions maybe effected by library closure.
Citizen Advice – KCALC: Cases by phone only: 03448487970
Job Centre Service: Customers advised not to attend face to face appointments for 3 months. You could find their updates on https://twitter.com/@dwp
Post Decision Team: Service: Business as usual. You can contact the team on 01484 221000 asking for any of the officers below or call in to Customer Service Centres in Huddersfield of Dewsbury
Home Office
a. Pause in face to face substantive asylum interviews:
In an update circulated on 18 March 2020, the Home Office have confirmed that they are temporarily suspending face to face substantive asylum interviews.
In the meantime, we are exploring other ways to find the information we need to make our decisions; digitally, by telephone and by post/ email, for example. We can already interview people digitally from our offices or onsite in other location in some circumstances and are looking for support from digital colleagues to do that in a different way that doesn’t involve us being in one of our offices. On that basis, we hope – availability of staff and applicants allowing – to be conducting those substantive asylum interviews again soon
b. Further Submissions to Liverpool Temporarily Suspended
It has now been confirmed that applicants wanting to make further submissions in support of a fresh claim for asylum no longer have to travel to Liverpool to hand them in. Instead, application can be sent in via post, or via e-mail (details below). This new process will be a temporary measure due to the Coronavirus. A message will be sent to all applicants who have already booked an appointment.
Postal address: FSU, The Capital Building, Old Hall Street, Liverpool, L3 9PP
UKLGIG and the Red Cross have set up two Google groups to facilitate communications in the refugee and migration sector on coronavirus. The COVID-19 operations group will focus on service delivery, support and sustaining organisations. The COVID-19 policy group will discuss policy and advocacy efforts around migrants and refugees and COVID-19
Migrant Help A lot of staff members are working from home, however, We ask for support from our sector and the community to help direct our clients appropriately, particularly in encouraging clients to use our free national telephone line (0808 8010 503) for asylum queries.
Kirklees Council events postponed
Kirklees Welcomes Briefing sessions: 20 March 2020 – Dewsbury library – Dewsbury 23 April 2020 – The Mission – Huddersfield
Introduction to Migration: 26 March 2020 – Howlands Centre – Dewsbury 30 April 2020 – The Mission – Huddersfield
