RESPOND offers health and wellbeing services for people seeking asylum and refugees, with the aim of improving access to healthcare for this population. Our staff have expertise in trauma-informed care and work with local, specialist and third sector services to ensure appropriate, timely and compassionate care. This is a free, confidential service hosted by the Hospital for Tropical Diseases and the Children and Young People's division at UCLH.
The RESPOND health system provides the following services for children and young people seeking asylum and refugees:
- outreach health assessment and care planning
- infection screening and treatment services for children and young people seeking asylum and refugees who are accompanied (by a caregiver) via UCLH; and adult individuals, via the Hospital of Tropical Diseases (HTD)
- Children and young people seeking asylum and refugees who are unaccompanied (by a caregiver) clinic, and paediatric infectious and tropical diseases (via UCLH)
- advice and guidance MDT (multidisciplinary team) meeting.
The clinical leads for the RESPOND service are consultants Dr Sarah Eisen, Dr Nicky Longley and Dr Allison Ward. Our team consists of infection and inclusion health professionals (IIHPs) who are nurse specialists with expertise in asylum seeker/refugee health, RESPOND GP fellows who support care planning, and clinical research fellows who work both in our clinical services and research programmes.
UCLH divisional managers
Toral Pandya (paediatric and adolescents division)
Martin Bruce (infection division).
Other referral information
For outreach health assessment and care planning in contingency accommodation in North Central London: email: uclh.respondmailbox@nhs.net.
For infection screening and treatment, or if a service user needs to see a paediatrician, and is a refugee/asylum seeker/migrant from any borough in any accommodation: email uclh.referrals.paedidgrading@nhs.net (Looked After children, family groups or children) or uclh.htdadmin@nhs.net (lone adults).
If you wish to discuss a refugee or asylum seeker (children or adults) with complex health and/or wellbeing needs who is an asylum seeker from any borough in any accommodation at our RESPOND advice and guidance MDT, please email uclh.respondmdt@nhs.net.
