A City of Sanctuary is one where neighbourhoods and work places are friendly and services are accessible and welcoming.

From January to September 2010 we are running a project in partnership with NHS Coventry to make GP surgeries more welcoming to refugees and other newcomers.

We are lucky to have a GP on our City of Sanctuary working group who is well respected by patients and doctors alike. To date, 24 GPs have personally signed the City of Sanctuary Pledge and we have an excellent health centre based in the Refugee Centre for those who do not yet have their refugee status.

However, some GPs are unfamiliar with refugee issues and don’t use interpreters when necessary. Similarly, some refugees do not yet understand the health care systems. We have sent questionnaires to GPs asking what problems they face and what training would be useful and we are currently asking refugees what good and bad experiences they have had at their surgery.

We will soon run sessions on ‘making the best out of the 10 minutes with your doctor’ and eventually we will write a ‘Good Practice Guide’ and distribute it to all surgeries.

We will post it on our resources section of the website so others can benefit too.