Bibby Stockholm: Asylum seekers to receive onboard healthcare

Asylum seekers set to live on a barge in a Dorset port will receive onboard healthcare, it has been confirmed.

Bibby Stockholm berthed in Portland Port on Tuesday and will soon become home to 500 single men claiming asylum.

The local community raised concerns over the impact these extra people would have on local health services.

But NHS Dorset said the barge residents would not need to access existing services in Weymouth and Portland following ad hoc Home Office funding.

They will instead receive care "either directly on the barge or remotely" from a team of experts "with previous experience of working with asylum seekers".

"Services local people continue to receive during the dock of the Bibby Stockholm will be no different from those before the barge arrived," NHS Dorset added.

The vessel has a medical treatment room. The BBC understands two nurses will be onboard to provide healthcare and a GP could also go onboard to visit the residents and deal with minor injuries and illnesses to try to limit the impact on local NHS services.

The news comes as officials previously said all 500 men would have to be registered with GPs in the area.

A local resident previously told officials local pharmacies were overrun, there were no dentists and it could take four weeks to see a doctor.

Dorset Council is receiving £1.7m over the planned 18-month duration of the vessel's stay in the port - based on £3,500 per bed space, with a further £377,000 available to fund support and activities for its residents.

The Homes Office said it was working with local organisations to minimise the impact on the local community and looking after the asylum seekers.

The first 50 asylum seekers are expected to go aboard in the next few days, while the barge is set to reach its full capacity in the coming weeks.

The 222-room, three-storey barge will house adult males, aged from 18 to 65, who are in the latter stages of their asylum applications.

The barge marks the first time migrants have been housed in a berthed vessel off the UK.

It is part of government plans to reduce the cost of housing asylum seekers, as it said there were currently about 51,000 "destitute migrants" in hotels across the UK, costing the taxpayer in excess of £6m a day.

Refugee campaign group Reclaim The Sea reported that chartering the vessel would cost £7.3m a year.

The government has declined to comment on the cost of the barge or managing the services on board.

Human rights groups described the decision to house migrants on a barge as "inhumane".

But the Home Office has so far defended the move, saying the barge would be basic but functional, would meet all the relevant safety standards and would be better value for British taxpayers.

The vessel includes flat-screen TVs, a gym, games rooms and a well-stocked bar among its amenities, according to its owner Bibby Marine.

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