Meeting the Needs of Asylum Seekers & Refugees: The Norfolk Experience

AIMS: As the number of forced migrants continues to raise every year due to conflicts, wars, climate change, and other factors, mental health services need to find innovative and new solutions to meet the needs of these vulnerable groups. We present here our experience of establishing the first mental health clinic for asylum seekers and refugees in Norwich, Norfolk (United Kingdom). METHODS: The clinic was established as part of the Advancing Mental Health Equalities QI Collaborative, which the Royal College of Psychiatrists launched to reduce barriers to accessing mental health services for disadvantaged populations. QI methodology was used to promote equality, increase access and improve outcomes over the next three years. The monthly clinic has no funding and is run by a consultant psychiatrist (Yasir Hameed) and GP (Hannah Fox). Two research assistant psychologists offered the administration support. Another assistant psychologist and two core trainees joined the small team to offer reviews and follow-ups for the patients. The monthly clinics are based away from the mental health settings (as some patients might be reluctant to attend these clinics) and are held in a friendly well-being hub run by the MIND organisation close to the city centre, which is easily accessible. The clinic receives referrals from primary care, social services, charity organisations (such as the British Red Cross), Well-being service (Psychological Therapies), and inpatient and Community Mental Health Teams. The clinic aimed to offer a person-centred, trauma-informed approach and improve the communication between services (through regular meetings with various services on a monthly basis), and enable access to appropriate treatment. In addition, the team of the clinic run drop-in session in local hotels where asylum seekers are housed to talk about mental health and access mental health services. Finally, the clinic offered training opportunities in transcultural psychiatry and working with interpreters. RESULTS: Between March 2022 to January 2023, 40 referrals were received, mainly from primary care. Nearly 20% had a diagnosis of PTSD. We followed nearly half of these patients in the clinic in subsequent visits and worked closely with the psychological therapy to refer patients for appropriate therapies. CONCLUSION: The clinic improved the access of forced migrants to comprehensive, trauma-focused mental health assessments and improved communication and collaboration amongst services. It provided training opportunities. The drop-in sessions were a great opportunity to meet asylum seekers in their accommodation. Lessons learned and full data analysis will be shared in the poster.