The Doctors within Borders project ran from October 2019 to September 2021. It was funded by the Wellcome Trust and lead by researchers at Lancaster University and the University of Glasgow, UK. It established a research network that, through a series of three workshops, brought together experts in health and migration, non-governmental organisations, the NHS and health professionals across Europe to explore how health systems deliver care to those lacking legal settled status or a permanent address.

Key project highlights

› Specially commissioned poem by Suhaiymah Manzoor-Khan | from Workshop 2

› Ingenious illustrations by Jack Brougham | from Workshop 3

› Keynote lectures

Tullio Prestileo – a Medical Director at a hospital in Palermo, Sicily – describes his forefront involvement with delivering healthcare to those migrating across the Mediterranean; with response from Dr Jess Potter, an NHS consultant, researcher and campaigner

Prof. Kate O’Donnell – Professor of Primary Care Research and Development, University of Glasgow – discusses insights from her work across multiple projects into the often problematic relationship between primary healthcare providers and mobile and marginalised populations, and what can be done to improve healthcare journeys to offer a safer space for such groups; with response from Dr Yusuf Ciftci, Policy and Advocacy Manager at Doctors of the World

› Working Papers Collection Healthcare Mobilities & National Health Systems | from Workshop 1

› Book chapter – “Moving target, moving parts: the multiple mobilities of the COVID-19 pandemic”

Contemporary healthcare systems assume that the people for whom they provide care belong to populations that are largely settled. But we know that people are moving, with migration and healthcare both challenging issues within contemporary society.

The workshops explored the often dynamic and novel ways that health professionals engage with the mobility of their patients, including working outside regular health systems to provide care. These experiences of providers were brought into contention with wide-ranging insights into the challenges faced by mobile and marginalised populations in accessing healthcare. Overall, these discussions helped to identify a largely overlooked set of research concerns at the intersections of existing health and mobilities research.

This website contains an archive of the discussions that took place during the workshops and the other resources generated by the project.