We are proud of the many inspirational stories that are shared and the fascinating people who feature on our podcast and none more so than this week’s guest, GP Rebecca Farrington. Rebecca works within an almost truly unique role as a GP with a special interest in asylum seeker mental health, within a specialist hub in Salford, Greater Manchester. The challenges faced by asylum seekers and refugees within the UK cannot be underestimated and the impact on mental health and wellbeing is significant. Here, Rebecca talks to Ben about these challenges in more detail, the dynamics of her role, the difficulties Covid has presented and how other providers can ensure the best care for this particularly vulnerable population, in their own areas of the country.

 

Introduction (29 secs)

 

Rebecca’s journey (41 secs)

 

How ‘typical’ is Rebecca’s role (2 mins 25 secs)

 

Life as a GP with a special interest and the model of care (2 mins 41 secs)

 

Are there other support frameworks for refugees and asylum seekers? (4 mins 12 secs)

 

The challenges faced by those seeking asylum in the UK (6 mins 5 secs)

 

How can GPs provide a better service? (7 mins 1 sec)

 

Why specialist health services make such a big difference (7 mins 50 secs)

 

The impact of Covid (10 mins 7 secs)

 

Doing things differently post Covid (12 mins 16 secs)

 

Advice and support on reaching out to the vulnerable populations in your area (13 mins 8 secs)

 

The importance of high-quality interpretation (15 mins 35 secs)

 

More information on the vital work and the services offered by Rebecca and her team (and Rebecca as a practitioner) can be found as follows:

BMJ article/interview

HEE career story

BJGP article

University of Manchester blog