Migrants and refugees: Good practices in hospitals and healthcare services

The increasing mobility and diversity of the population strongly affect healthcare services and hospitals: people on the move face greater health risks, suffer from conditions not commonly found in Europe and have different expectations about health services. Access to adequate health care is further complicated by language barriers and migrants often being socially disadvantaged. Although health services are used to accommodating cultural diversity, European hospitals are facing new challenges. HOPE and its members have been discussing this topic for many years. In the recent context of intensified migratory pressure on some EU countries, it seemed essential to collaborate and share good practices as well as knowledge on the specific health needs of migrants. The HOPE Board of Governors has recently urged members to review and list good practices. The present document is the result of this work.