CEAD-MILE-FAILTE - AN ASSESSMENT OF THE SCREENING OF 178 BOSNIAN REFUGEES TO IRELAND

The number of refugees in Western Europe has risen dramatically. Such an increase poses unique challenges for all health personnel. This pap er describes how the Republic of Ireland, a country with little experi ence of refugees, initially coped with 178 Bosnian refugees, An open-a ccess general practitioner ser,ice was combined with a general screeni ng protocol. Patients with significant problems tended to visit GP's, for appropriate treatment, soon after arrival. Of a total of 92 proble ms diagnosed at screening, general medical (14%), psychiatric (14%) an d gynaecological (11%) were the most frequently encountered. Of the 30 problems referred, 80% were referred by a GP. Deficiencies in immunis ation and drug history are highlighted. We make recommendations to imp rove the quality of future initial refugee assessment procedures.