Dr Jane HuntLittle did I know when I left for a long awaited holiday to New Zealand in February that I wouldn’t return to the Helen Bamber Foundation (HBF) offices for many, many months and that the mutterings of a circulating virus would have become a global pandemic and have affected the lives of so many.
At the HBF we support some of the most vulnerable people in society, those who have been survivors of MSHT, torture and other forms of human cruelty.
By the time I returned from the other side of the world the team at HBF had made Herculean efforts to switch to supporting our clients remotely.
However, we very quickly noted an increase in the number of clients expressing anxiety and frustration about their inability to access services, particularly information about Covid and healthcare. This is, of course, paramount in a global pandemic in a population that often have significant underlying physical and mental health conditions related to their previous lives, journeys and traumatic histories.
It became apparent very rapidly that access to healthcare for our clients was going to be an even greater challenge than pre-covid, as communication in medicine was transformed almost overnight. Websites, smartphone applications, and remote consultations became a major part of healthcare interactions. Long call waiting times and long phone conversations quickly drain phone credit. Healthcare services can seem unwilling or unable to use interpreters with their phone systems. Using 111 and Test and Trace is difficult for those with poor English and who often struggle with a lack of agency and autonomy.
This was not just healthcare – society dramatically increased its reliance on the internet and telephone for almost all aspects of life. Even though digital exclusion has been falling recently vulnerable migrants, and particularly victims of trafficking, are especially prone to digital exclusion because they cannot access or afford devices, data, or WiFi, or because they do not possess the necessary skills, including language.
We recognised that our clients were finding it difficult to isolate or socially distance as many were living in poor quality and overcrowded accommodation. At the same time they experienced an increase in destitution, including food poverty. There was a worsening of feelings of isolation and anxiety and that in turn led to a deterioration in mental health.
Our response had to be multidisciplinary. Our fundraising team sourced specific funding to provide our clients with smartphones and data top-ups. Our psychologists, doctors, lawyers and welfare experts quickly trained a team of amazing volunteers who called our clients weekly to help them overcome some of these barriers. This has been a lifeline for our clients to access many services and to combat the isolation which has had such a deleterious effect on our clients’ mental health.
Our clinical team has been on standby for the many safeguarding issues we have encountered. Our counter-trafficking team have been alert to increased destitution pushing people into exploitation. Our housing team have been working heroically to ensure our clients have had a roof over their head. Our therapy team have launched videos to help people cope with their heightened anxiety and have risen to the challenge of providing therapy remotely.
Throughout this time we were acutely aware that our clients may be at increased risk of becoming severely unwell from Covid-19.
Their complex medical histories are compounded by challenging socio-economic circumstances as well as by potential weakening of their immune systems secondary to chronic stress, malnourishment or vitamin deficiencies. Our medical team has ensured that they identified and spoke to all our clients who we deemed to be at higher risk of Covid to explain their need to self-isolate and ensure they had the means to do so.
All over the world, I know people have been responding in similar ways to help those who may be particularly vulnerable during this unprecedented crisis. I am proud to be a small part of this global response and I’m particularly proud to be part of the Helen Bamber team. However, I’m most proud of our clients; their resilience in the face of such adversity has, as ever, been humbling.