You must book a place on this training in advance

With no funding other than members' generous donations, and no paid staff, Medical Justice has achieved a lot in just over 12 months existence.

* Handled about 200 cases - most were released, relatively few removals or deportations.
* Conducted about 100 medical visits into immigration detention centres
* Written about 80 MLRs, professional statements and letters
* Literature includes "Know Your Medical Rights" leaflet for detainees and more on our website
* Bulletins include what to do in case of inadequate provision of anti-malarials
* Successfully lobbied for HM Inspector of Prisons (HMIP) Inquiry into healthcare at Yarl's Wood
* HMIP inquiry findings touched on all of MJ's 3 main objectives ...
     - Transfer detention centre healthcare responsibility from private companies to the NHS
     - Enforcement of Home Office's own policies to not normally detain the particularly vulnerable
     - An end to obstruction to appropriate healthcare
* Productive meetings with parliamentarians
* MJ Submission to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR)
* MJ Mental Health sub-group being established
* MJ HIV sub-group in discussion
* Series of meetings with Home Office at senior level
* Home Office adoption of fluid and food refusal guidelines
* Home Office adoption of protocol for access to independent doctors
* "Audit" of detention estate with ex-detainee to check info available to detainees
* "Audit" of handcuffing for hospital visits
* Influenced registration of detention centre healthcare providers with the Healthcare Commission
* MJ articles in BMJ
* Press conference outside Home Office
* Media coverage includes - Channel 4 News, Radio 4, the Independent, FT, Times, and Guardian.
* MJ Speakers (doctor, psychiatrist, solicitor and ex-detainees) at public meetings
* MJ Workshops at training days, conferences and public meetings
* Over 200 MJ members
* Regional MJ groups being established

However, we cannot fulfill about 50% of the referrals we are receiving and we do not have the resources for badly needed lobbying and research as well as auditing our existing cases.

It is critical to expand our base of medics and visitors who visit detainees and/or provide support by phone.

To this end, Medical Justice invites you to ... Medics & Visitors Training + Detention Visit

Tentative Agenda ...

10.00 am - Everyone Together Session - with experienced MJ doctors, barrister and visitors.
Welcome + tea & coffee
Medical Justice Overview
The Asylum Determination Process
Overview of Detention and Conditions
Overview of Healthcare in Detention
What Medical Justice Can Do For Individual Patients
Lobbying to achieve Medical Justice aims & objectives

11.00 am - Medics Session - with experienced MJ doctors & barrister.
* Access to healthcare in detention
* About "medical" visits
* MLRs
* Detainees Being Taken to Hospitals
* Detainees On-Going Needs
* Medics check-lists, guidance notes + other tools available
* Support Available

11.00 am - Visitors Session - with experienced barrister and visitors.
* About "social" visiting
* Challenging a Deportation, forming an Action Plan
* Detainees Getting Released
* After Release From Detention
* Building an Anti-Deportation Campaign
* Visitors check-lists, guidance notes + other tools available
* Support Available

12.30pm - Questions & Answers - with experienced MJ doctors, barrister and visitors.

1.00pm - Lunch

2.00pm - Travel to Harmondsworth / Colnbrook detention centre
Harmondsworth / Colnbrook - detainee visits

5.00pm - Travel back to Harrow Road Health Centre / refreshments

5.30pm - Feedback From Visits / Debrief Session

6.30pm - Finish

First visit into a detention centre ? You will be supported.
We will couple new MJ members with more experienced members for the detainees visits as far as possible.

You must book
It's really vital to book your place on this training - detainee visits cannot be arranged without having booked in advance.   Please book ...

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Getting to Harrow Road Health Centre
Harrow Road Health Centre is just around the corner from Royal Oak tube station.   There is free parking at the back via Torquay Street. Street-map

Getting to/from Harmondsworth/Colnbrook
We will take a small convoy of cars.   Please bring your car, if you have one, to Harrow Road Health Centre and be prepared to give a lift to others. If you don't have a car, hopefully there's room in someone else's car - if not, we will sort something out.

Lunch / dinner
We will pre-book at an Afghani restaurant opposite Harrow Road Health Centre.   Please let us know in advance if you are vegetarian, vegan, or have any special dietary needs.   Everyone expected to pay for their meal themselves, except those facing deportation.   You can make your own lunch arrangements if you prefer.   Some MJ members will go for a diner after the training in the evening - everyone welcome.

Logistics
Because of traffic and getting into Harmondsworth/Colnbrook cannot be timed precisely, we need to remain somewhat flexible in the afternoon.

Any queries - Please contact ...
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Please make it your business to "recruit" medics and visitors into MJ
Please pass this invitation on to someone who may have skills we need in MJ.   Please do not circulate the invitation on mass-mailing lists, but please do forward to particular individuals you think will become MJ members.

Thank you !