A City of Sanctuary is one where neighbourhoods and work places are friendly and services are accessible and welcoming.

We have just completed a project in partnership with NHS Coventry to make GP surgeries more welcoming to refugees and other newcomers.

We are lucky to have a GP on our City of Sanctuary working group who is well respected by patients and doctors alike. To date, 24 GPs have personally signed the City of Sanctuary Pledge and we have an excellent health centre based oat the Walk In Centre on Stoney Stanton Road for those who do not yet have their refugee status.

However, some GPs are unfamiliar with refugee issues and don’t use interpreters when necessary, despite it being a free service. Similarly, some refugees do not yet understand the health care systems.

We asked doctors and refugees what difficulties they experienced and then ran workshops to share these findings with refugees and health professionals.

Below are three attachments. One is for doctors, one for receptionists and one for refugees. The refugee leaflet is also available in French, Arabic, Somali, Mandarin and Tigrinya on request. Please adapt and use these documents in other cities too.