In this blog, our Access to Healthcare organiser Ethan Chua reflects on the recent Patients Not Passports National Gathering and the power we’re building to end racist immigration controls in the NHS.
On the weekend of 10-11th May 2025, Patients Not Passports organisers came together for the 2025 National Gathering. The campaign is built on the power of grassroots communities so the gathering was a valuable opportunity to bring 45 organisers together to connect and strategise.
This was our second national gathering and in the room we had organisers representing groups from Wales, Sheffield, Manchester, Bristol, Liverpool and London. We heard directly from healthcare workers and migrants whose access to healthcare has been restricted by “hostile environment” immigration policies; seasoned campaigners from movements like Docs Not Cops and Keep our NHS public to first-time attendees, all united by a commitment to end borders in the NHS and a belief in universal healthcare for all.
We began the weekend with a set of ‘rounds questions’ – a tradition in organising meetings- to hear from organisers about what keeps them going in this often difficult work.
The Patients Not Passports Story
We grounded ourselves in the history of the Patients Not Passports movement by hearing the stories of long-time organisers. Dr Jess Potter, a doctor and organiser, told us about the early days of the campaign, walking us through its beginnings as Docs Not Cops, to early victories including the mass opposition of medical unions, royal colleges, and the British Medical Association (BMA) to the practice of charging migrants for healthcare.
She was followed by Terry Day, an organiser in East London, who grounded us in the victories of the award winning Justice for Omisha campaign. In March 2023, Reeja and Basudev Shrestha – alongside with local residents, health workers and Patients Not Passports- launched the campaign to challenge a medical bill forced upon the family after their baby daughter, Omisha, was charged £76,000 for her life saving cancer treatment.
The campaign was successful in freezing the bill, and in galvanising the support from communities across the country- with over 11,000 people signing their petition. They continue the fight to get the debt totally cancelled, for an end to hospitals using debt collectors, and for a truly universal NHS, free of all border controls and accessible to all – regardless of wealth or where you’re from.
Local Power
A central component of community organising is building power from the grassroots. Organiser Kitty Worthing touched on the incredible community being cultivated by the Patients Not Passports Liverpool / Merseyside Chapter, where healthcare workers, migrants, and other community members work hand-in-hand to combat not only inequities in healthcare, but also other manifestations of the hostile environment, from violent immigration raids to oppressive reporting conditions for migrants seeking asylum.
Abolition as creative practice
A key theme of Saturday was abolition as a creative practice, and Rosalie Schweiker from Migrants in Culture helped make this feel real as she guided us through a series of artistic exercises and pushed us out of our comfort zones as campaigners. We drew, painted, and collaged, imagining an NHS without borders by envisioning spaces of hope, warmth, and community care.
Free Fatou!
We also came together to call for the freedom of Fatou Tamba, a cherished member of our community who is currently being detained in Yarlswood Immigration Removal Centre and threatened with deportation to Gambia.
Fatou, having spent the past 18 years building a life in the UK, is a beloved member of our community and her sudden detention has torn her away from the family, friends, and comrades who lean on her for strength. This violation of her dignity and rights stands as a painful reminder of the ongoing and systematic violence exercised by the British state against anyone deemed to be other.
Looking ahead
Heading into Sunday, we picked up some of the fundamentals of organising practice, reflecting on the stories of self that brought us into this work, and using those stories as bridges to better understand each other.
We heard from Jenny He of Medact Bristol about the incredible work being done by healthcare workers in alliance with local residents to fight substandard living conditions in Barton House.
Then, we spent the last sessions of the afternoon brainstorming tactics to bring to bear on our work, and strategising about the year ahead within our various chapters.
As the weekend came to a close, organisers said they felt hopeful, energised, and excited to do the work moving forward, as well as curious about how a more expansive approach to our theory of change might grow our movement.
Going forward, we’re determined to push for an end to charging and the hostile environment in the NHS, while paying closer attention to the needs and priorities of the communities who are most impacted by the violence of the UK’s border regime. By building up our skills as community organisers, centring people before going into issues, and broadening our tactics, we’re also evolving and growing our movement to answer the challenges of the current moment.
Get Involved!
- Sign the petition to Free Fatou, and write to your MP calling for her release.
- Find and join a local chapter of Patients Not Passports near you
- Use our NHS charging toolkit to advocate for patients being charged, or to navigate any healthcare charges you are facing as a migrant
- Email info@patientsnotpassports.co.uk to set up a meeting with one of our organisers about how to get plugged into our work
Patients Not Passports is organising to end racist immigration controls in the NHS.
If you, someone you know, or your patient is being charged for healthcare, we can help. Use our toolkit for advice on what to do.
