‘My Right to Healthcare’ Cards

In partnership with the London Homeless Health Programme (LHHP) we carried out peer-led research ‘More than a Statistic’ (2016), revealing that one of the key barriers people who are homeless face to getting healthcare is registering and making use of a GP practice.

Despite the clear responsibility for GP’s, the registration of homeless people without a fixed address, identification or status in the UK remained a problem. We identified a lack of knowledge amongst GP’s, their staff, homeless people and those supporting them regarding their rights when accessing healthcare.

In response Groundswell and LHHP produced ‘My Right to Healthcare’ cards; small plastic credit card style cards emphasising that when registering with a GP:

• You do not need a fixed address.
• You do not need identification.
• Your immigration status does not matter.

To date we have distributed 65,000 cards across London. Find out more about the cards and download here.

“Each individual that I have given them to, has expressed their surprise/lack of knowledge in relation to this provision and have recounted episodes where they were refused service at the point of access”.

Homelessness support worker