Illegal migrants in Spain will be given access to free public healthcare.
Undocumented migrants had been banned from free visits to GPs as part of the country’s austerity programme.
But the government has decided to make a u-turn on this policy after Accident and Emergency departments reached “saturation” point.
Health cards were removed from as many as 800,000 migrants in Spain when those not registered with the Spanish tax office were barred in 2012. They were offered the opportunity to pay into a special insurance scheme, but only 500 joined.
Pregnant women and children were not included and emergency care in A&E remained available.
Now Prime Minister Rajoy has said it “seems more sensible and reasonable” to offer migrants access to health care at local centres “so that, among other things, A&E wards are not collapsed.”
No data from the health ministry has been published to show if the ban was successful in saving public funds.
