Socio-spatial dimensions of healthcare for newly arrived migrants

Abstract

This chapter demonstrates the practical and socio-spatial challenges facing many migrants as they seek to access basic resources in their day-to-day lives, and the additional burdens faced when migrants are undocumented or have longer-term healthcare needs. Drawing on work undertaken in France, the chapter examines how the principles of universalism enshrined within state policy and national rhetoric are simultaneously undermined by government policy while being positively renegotiated by committed and compassionate individuals at the frontline of healthcare provision. At the centre of this is the provision of outreach work to ensure vulnerable migrants are brought into the healthcare system. While the chapter demonstrates the vital role played by dedicated individuals and informal networks, it raises important questions regarding health-related accountability as well as concerns over the sustainability of relying on acts of benevolence to deliver healthcare.