Pregnant refugees who arrive in Britain not being seen by doctors for weeks after arrival
December 13, 2021, 11:54 am

Pregnant refugees who arrive in Britain not being seen by doctors for weeks after arrival

Asylum seekers/Pixabay

The Arab News reported according to UK officials, doctors are not attending to pregnant refugees who arrive in Britain until weeks after their arrival, and they are being deprived of food.

According to a Labour MP, a first-time mother who was 38 weeks pregnant was not seen by a doctor for several weeks after making the treacherous Channel crossing into Britain.

Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Kyle said, when the Iraqi-Kurdish woman was examined, it was found that she had tokophobia — an intense fear of childbirth — and a possible breech presentation, which could have led to childbirth complications.

He requested that the Home Office, responsible for managing the arrival of refugees and migrants into the UK, investigate the treatment of at least five women in his Hove and Portslade constituency.

UK-London-Footbridge/Pixabay

In a letter sent this month to the Home Office, Kyle wrote: “A community midwife has been into the hotel as there was a pregnant woman who required booking for her antenatal care. When she arrived she discovered that the woman was already 38 weeks pregnant and had not been seen by a doctor/GP since arrival in the UK. This woman has primary tokophobia and has a possible breech presentation.”

Read more: Two feared dead as British and Danish cargo ships collide in the Baltic Sea

Kyle said the midwife discovered there were another four women who required antenatal care.

“She was required to attend to these women in a communal area and was unable to assess their other living conditions,” he wrote.

The Guardian reported that another letter of complaint, written by a health official, said guards were withholding food. The official claimed: “Sometimes the pregnant women were only given water."

The Home Office has taken over three hotels in Hove to temporarily house people arriving in Britain.

Rights groups have said conditions in the hotels have left people unable to access basic healthcare.

Britain has been struggling to cope with an influx of people arriving in the country via the English Channel.

Read more: South African President tests positive for coronavirus

More than 25,000 refugees and migrants are thought to have arrived in the UK in 2021, nearly triple the 8,469 who arrived in 2020.

The Home Office said in statement that it works “closely with service providers to ensure the highest possible standards in our accommodation and takes the welfare of women very seriously. All accommodation follows safety standards and Covid-19 regulations.”

A spokesperson told The Guardian that they could not comment on individual cases, adding: “Asylum seekers in our care have access to medical support if they need it. All asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute are provided with free, fully furnished accommodation and we also cover their utility costs.

“They are provided with a choice of three meals a day in line with NHS (National Health Service) nutrition guidelines, as well as constant access to drinking water.”

Source: arabnews

Two feared dead as British and Danish cargo ships collide in the Baltic Sea Boris Johnson says at least one person infected with omicron had died

BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, has sponsored the BuildHer CityHack 2025 Hackathon, a two-day event spearheaded by the College of Engineering and Technology at the Royal University for Women (RUW).
Aimed at secondary school students, the event brought together a distinguished group of academic professionals and technology experts to mentor and inspire young participants.
More than 100 high school students from across the Kingdom of Bahrain took part in the hackathon, which featured an intensive programme of training workshops and hands-on sessions. These activities were tailored to enhance participants’ critical thinking, collaborative problem-solving, and team-building capabilities, while also encouraging the development of practical and sustainable solutions to contemporary challenges using modern technological tools.
BENEFIT’s Chief Executive Mr. Abdulwahed AlJanahi, commented: “Our support for this educational hackathon reflects our long-term strategic vision to nurture the talents of emerging national youth and empower the next generation of accomplished female leaders in technology. By fostering creativity and innovation, we aim to contribute meaningfully to Bahrain’s comprehensive development goals and align with the aspirations outlined in the Kingdom’s Vision 2030—an ambition in which BENEFIT plays a central role.”
Professor Riyadh Yousif Hamzah, President of the Royal University for Women, commented: “This initiative reflects our commitment to advancing women in STEM fields. We're cultivating a generation of creative, solution-driven female leaders who will drive national development. Our partnership with BENEFIT exemplifies the powerful synergy between academia and private sector in supporting educational innovation.”
Hanan Abdulla Hasan, Senior Manager, PR & Communication at BENEFIT, said: “We are honoured to collaborate with RUW in supporting this remarkable technology-focused event. It highlights our commitment to social responsibility, and our ongoing efforts to enhance the digital and innovation capabilities of young Bahraini women and foster their ability to harness technological tools in the service of a smarter, more sustainable future.”
For his part, Dr. Humam ElAgha, Acting Dean of the College of Engineering and Technology at the University, said: “BuildHer CityHack 2025 embodies our hands-on approach to education. By tackling real-world problems through creative thinking and sustainable solutions, we're preparing women to thrive in the knowledge economy – a cornerstone of the University's vision.”