Immigrants health levels Declining - Doctors

A doctor who specializes in immigrant health says that in spite of limited efforts to screen new immigrants and refugees from infectious diseases, Canada does not provide complete medical care to newcomers which they need to prevent serious illness from developing.

A doctor who specializes in immigrant health says that in spite of limited efforts to screen new immigrants and refugees from infectious diseases, Canada does not provide complete medical care to newcomers which they need to prevent serious illness from developing.

Dr. Doug Gruner, who runs a groundbreaking medical clinic for refugees in Ottawa, said that the gap created by Canada might put the health of all Canadians at risk.

Gruner, medical coordinator of the Champion Immigrant Health Network, said that the situation gets worse due to the significant number of newcomers who claim to be ill because they are unable to speak English or French well enough to tell anyone.

Gruner said that if we combine this with the fact that there is shortage of doctors in Canada, the result is that most immigrants in Canada do not have access to adequate health care.

The doctor said that to some extent, such factors do explain why studies consistently show that immigrants are healthier than native-born Canadians when they arrive in Canada, but become sicker as they spend time in Canada.

The problem is that no one cares for taking the responsibility for the heath of these immigrants, Gruner said.

Although the federal Immigration Department requires immigrants to pass a physical examination test prior to them being finally granted stay in Canada, the screening consists of just chest X-ray and an HIV test. These tests are nowhere near to what should actually be done, said Gruner.

Gruner said that these officials are simply looking to make sure that the public health of Canadians is taken care of, but are missing on latent conditions.