PATIENTS NOT PASSPORTS: Migrants Access to Healthcare During the Coronavirus Crisis | June 2020 METHODOLOGY The urgency of present circumstances and the lack of information about healthcare barriers during the pandemic made the quick collection of evidence a priority. This research sought to compile information in the shortest possible time frame. An online survey was sent to a convenience sample* of migrant organisations – including organisations providing advocacy and support, legal advice and healthcare, and migrant community organisations – via a number of private lists and networks. The survey comprised a mix of both open and closed questions probing: • • • • barriers to healthcare; the prevalence of fear of charging, data sharing and immigration enforcement in the health service; if and how the coronavirus crisis is impacting on willingness and ability to engage with health services; and knowledge of charging exemptions for coronavirus. We then undertook semi-structured phone interviews with a subsection of respondents in order to gather further information. The purpose was not to try to represent the range of views provided through the survey, but instead to gather more in-depth information from a sample of those reporting barriers. Descriptive statistics have been produced for the survey’s closed questions. Open survey questions and interview findings have been analysed and presented thematically, using a framework developed inductively by multiple researchers working to identify and verify a set of themes from survey and interview responses. As much as possible, we have sought to quote submissions directly. We have primarily approached caseworkers as their role supporting migrants provides them with detailed insights into the lives, challenges and issues faced by migrant communities. It is caseworkers who complete forms, call helplines, and undertake administrative tasks alongside affected migrants, and they are acutely aware of the circumstances and specific processes that prevent migrants accessing healthcare. Their work allows them to see the particular issues faced by individuals and to recognise trends that indicate systemic failings in policy and administrative processes. They were also able to provide information for this report without the same concerns of backlash from immigration enforcement experienced by the migrants they support. It is important to note that many migrants, especially those whose status is most precarious, often do not receive any support from migrant organisations. The results of this research, therefore, are likely to understate the scale and depth of the issues highlighted. *A convenience sample is a type of sampling method where the information is taken from a group of people easy to contact or to reach. There are no other criteria to the sampling method except that people be available and willing to participate. 6