More on KentOnline
More on KentOnline
It is feared a lack of encampments in Kent mean a number of gypsies and travellers will again not have access to a GP during lockdown.
Ahead of tough restrictions returning on Thursday, the director of The Gypsy Council has told KentOnline a second wave of cases will put communities in danger if proper provision is not provided.
Because travellers in unauthorised encampments do not have a permanent address, they often find they cannot apply to a GP surgery.
In a mystery shopper exercise in 2019, the Friends, Families and Travellers charity found almost half of GP surgeries would not register an individual without proof of ID or evidence of a fixed address. This means nomadic Gypsies and Travellers are at greater risk of being refused healthcare.
This has led sick people to wait for symptoms to become severe enough to justify going to hospital, which also means illnesses spread much easier and endanger the community.
Joseph Jones, the Kent-based director, said: "Travellers are reliant on A&E - but you still can't just walk into a hospital with symptoms. It has been very difficult, so some people are waiting until the last minute until they're really unwell.
"It's a big problem, not just with the virus now. Gypsies and travellers phone around their families and everyone else to try to get a doctor - but many end up in A&E.
"It's all about provision. If councils don't provide enough pitches, then there's always going to be unauthorised encampments and people struggling with this. You can't have it both ways."
Kent County Council’s Gypsy and Traveller Service team operate 10 Public Gypsy and Traveller Sites housing 550 residents. These residents can access a GP with the pitches address.
The latest KCC figures date back to 2006 but estimated there were 9,600 Gypsies and Travellers residing in Kent, with a minority of about 30% being nomadic - around 2,880 people.
Palminder Sandher, head of Gypsy and Traveller Service at KCC, says: "Those that are stopping illegally have the option to join our waiting list for a pitch on one of our sites or present as homeless to their district or borough council who have a duty to provide for emergency accommodation."
He adds site managers will normally conduct welfare inquiries to understand the needs of travellers stopping illegally and refer them to relevant services before deciding whether to move them on.
During the first lockdown, KCC produced the ‘Kent Partnership Response to Unauthorised Encampments - Covid -19’ to keep people in traveller communities safe and in line with guidelines.
This involved not treating eviction of unauthorised encampments as a first resort, the use of police powers should be an exception, encouraging negotiation and ensuring communities have access to water, sanitation, public toilets and rubbish disposal.
However, the Gypsy Council director warns evictions were still going ahead and the second wave threatens the same struggles as the first.
If a member of a family catches coronavirus this November, can they access healthcare and will they have somewhere to stay and recover?
He said: "We're constantly moved on. We're constantly being portrayed as invaders, strangers and God knows what. By moving that problem on, they're endangering other people elsewhere if the people they move on have the virus.
"There are a few councils which provided stopping places, but only for a short period of time. If someone is in isolation for 14 days, that is about as much time as councils will give them.
"We never seem to choose the right place, because it's not there. Local authorities need to get their heads around the fact that provision is the best thing because if you provide accommodation people will use it."
