Sheffield man who nearly died after a stroke faces £100,000 NHS treatment bill

Supporters of Simba Mujakachi, 32, vow to keep up their campaign to cancel his debt following a protest march in Sheffield last week

‘INHUMANE TREATMENT’: Simba Mujakachi with his partner Melissa in hospital, June 2019

CAMPAIGNERS SAY they are stepping up their efforts to cancel out a £100,000 NHS debt faced by Sheffield man who suffered a life-altering stroke. 

Simba Mujakachi, 32, suffered a stroke in June 2019 which left him partially paralysed. However, unlike most UK residents, he was charged over £100,000 by the NHS for the care needed to save his life.

This is due to his immigration status – Mujakachi’s family moved to the UK from Zimbabwe in 2004, and he has been fighting since 2009 to have his right to asylum recognised.

In 2018 he stopped receiving treatment for his blood clotting condition due to unaffordable NHS costs. He was not allowed to work or receive any form of income.

Mujakachi’s family say that had he been able to access NHS this treatment the devastating stroke h suffered could have been prevented. 

CAMPAIGN: Simba Mujakachi before his stroke

Campaigners say that his treatment is yet another example of the suffering caused by hostile environment policies – a set of policies introduced in 2012 by then-Home Secretary Theresa May intended to cut off undocumented migrants from access to any public services, including healthcare services as well as making it difficult to work or rent property. 

Last week Mujakachi’s supporters gathered from around the country for a march in Sheffield, dubbed a ‘Carnival of Resistance’, organised by the Justice for Simba campaign.

Protestors marched on the Royal Hallamshire Hospital to deliver a petition, signed by over 74,000 people, calling for Mujakachi’s debt to be written off and for the Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust to oppose charging for migrants. It also called for an end to all patient charging in the NHS.

SUPPORTERS: Protestors gathered from all over the country last week demanding that Mujakachi ‘s £100,000 bill be cancelled

Aliya Yule, from Migrants Organise and the Patients Not Passports campaign, told The Voice:  “The huge turnout and the support of the public at the Carnival of Resistance showed that the community is behind Simba and against the inhumane healthcare charges for migrant patients. Over 78,000 people have put their name to Simba’s petition calling for an end to hostile environment immigration policies in the NHS. We won’t stop fighting until we’ve won justice for Simba and for everyone whose lives have been ruined by racist border controls in our public services.”

Speaking ahead of last week’s rally Mujakachi said: The inhumane treatment that me and my family have received and the stress of the Hostile Environment is what caused me to become so ill, and ultimately to have a haemorrhagic stroke. 

“Now I have a £100,000 bill to add on top of all that – all because I claimed asylum and safety in the UK. It’s been 11 years, 7 months, and 18 days since I first applied for asylum and my whole life changed – I’ve lost my freedom, I’ve been denied the right to work and access to essential services, and become beholden to a cruel and racist immigration system.”

He added: “I will never get these 11 years back, but I insist on justice both for me and for everybody else persecuted by the Hostile Environment and the awful treatment of people seeking safety. When we come together, like in the Carnival of Resistance, as a community fighting for justice and freedom for everybody, I know that we can, and will, win.” 

‘SHOCKING’: The Justice for Simba campaign has received the backing of Sheffield Hallam MP Olivia Blake

The campaign to cancel Mujakachi’s debt has received the backing of Olivia Blake, Member of Parliament for Sheffield Hallam. 

She said: Simba’s case is shocking, and his situation – being charged extortionate fees for the healthcare he needed to survive – is unfortunately far from an isolated incident. It shows how much the government’s hostile environment has eroded the core principles of our NHS: that it meets everyone’s needs, that it is free at the point of delivery, and that it is based on clinical need, not ability to pay.

Blake added: “Sadly there are far too many stories like Simba’s, where people’s lives have been turned upside down by the hostile environment. Government legislation is denying members of our community access to services and resources they need to live, and these policies only serve to deny care to those who need it the most.”

Comments Form

2 Comments

  1. | Ruth

    They don’t see his humanity and I bet he or partner was working and probably paid health surcharge as part of his application while still being taxed for NHS contribution. Evil policies implemented by evil people. Why they have to make other human being lives so difficult

    Reply

  2. | Georgina Page

    Cancel the bill immediately, it’s fucking inhumane

    Reply

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