The latest, interim figures for the uptake of voluntary health screening by refugees showed it at around 60 per cent, the conference was told.
Dr Cliodhna Foley Nolan, public health specialist with the Southern Health Board, acknowledged that this would be unacceptable. However, she firmly ruled out compulsory screening as unethical and "not acceptable by international standards". She told The Irish Times she is confident that screening rates in excess of 70 per cent can be achieved.
Mr Eamon Rogers, consultant urologist at the Mercy Hospital in Cork, described his experiences as a consultant to the Brent Health Authority in north-west London. He said the appointment of hospital race and health advisers, as part of a multi-disciplinary team, was pivotal to providing good medical care for immigrants.
The conference heard calls for the recruitment of ethnic minorities by hospitals. Dr Peter McKenna, Master of the Rotunda Hospital, called for the appointment of extra consultants with experience in refugee medicine to deal with an anticipated 1,500 immigrant deliveries per year.
Prof Colin Bradley, Professor of General Practice at UCC, read a paper on the implication for GPs of immigration. Many refugees have fled oppression and have major psychological problems. In his experience as a GP in Manchester, virtually every immigrant family had one or more members in whom post-traumatic stress could be diagnosed.
IHCA president, Dr Colm Costigan, said it was the view of the IHCA that the State had a duty to provide health services "to every resident whether permanent or temporary and irrespective of whether their standing before the law is that of a legal or an illegal resident".