Every year seeing a doctor is not possible for families seeking basic immunisations for their children or medicine for themselves. With ever increasing inequality in healthcare, both in the UK and overseas, Doctors of the World UK (DOW UK) is campaigning to reaffirm that health is not and must not become a luxury!

On Friday 24th June DOW UK at 2pm on Riverside Walkway on Southbank, London DOW UK staff, volunteers and the Director will be raising awareness of the growing inequalities in healthcare as part of their ‘Health Is Not A Luxury’ campaign. It will highlight that health is priceless. A petition will be launched calling on members of the public to demand the UK government uphold the right of vulnerable migrants to access healthcare regardless of their ability to pay.

Susan Wright, Director of DOW UK says all too often people assume that everyone has access to healthcare here in the UK: “The people we see at our clinic Project:London prove that even though we live in a rich nation there are those who struggle to register with the NHS and see a doctor. Having access to healthcare is essential for the patient but also it has a wider implication from a public health point of you. We are encouraging people to sign our petition calling for the UK government to uphold the right of vulnerable migrants to access healthcare regardless of their ability to pay. Health is not a luxury, for anyone.”

The ‘Health Is Not A Luxury’ campaign is coming to London having toured in Switzerland and France. Adopting the elegant display cases usually found in high end jewellery stores, visitors will instead find medicine, a stethoscope, a syringe and a medical card, demonstrating the increasing luxurious status of healthcare.