refugee care

Dr Philip Monk, consultant in public health with Leicestershire health authority, had 48 hours' notice that a plane with refugees from the Balkans would be arriving at East Midlands airport.

He describes the tension waiting for the aircraft doors to open. 'The emotions you go through are the same as with any accident and emergency setting. The difference was we had no forewarning of what we were going to get and we had to stand there on the tarmac waiting to see if they walked off the plane or if we had to go on to the plane for them. It is the unknown that is difficult. Once we saw them walking off the plane, that scaled down the level of anxiety and we could get going.'

His greatest concern was for one child, a 10-year-old boy with diabetes, accompanied by his parents, older brother and younger sister. 'They were a tremendous family. They had kept his insulin in a stream to keep it cold. They were so resourceful and showed tremendous resolve and ingenuity in coping with appalling circumstances.'

Dr Monk says the refugees were screened at the airport to ensure they were not bringing in infection, and triaged. There were four with a temperature, more than 10 with blood pressure problems, three diabetics, a baby with diarrhoea and a young girl with a perforated and discharging ear-drum. More detailed health checks followed at the reception centres. One suicide risk was identified and a psychiatric assessment was arranged. There were a number of chronic medical problems because people had not had any medical care for some time.

Describing the reaction of the medical team, Dr Monk says: 'The immediate responses were how dignified they were and how they had really coped incredibly well with immensely difficult circumstances, and what a privilege it was to see these people who were incredibly grateful for everything that was being done for them.'