A Syrian refugee who cleans Covid-19 hospital wards wants to end the UK’s National Health Service surcharge that migrant healthcare workers must pay to access treatment.
On Wednesday, Hassan Akkad, who fled Syria in 2015, helped to force a government about-face over the exclusion of healthcare support staff from a bereavement scheme.
The scheme allows families of front-line support staff to stay in the UK indefinitely if the workers die from the coronavirus.
Under the surcharge scheme, migrant workers from outside the European Economic Area must pay £400 [Dh1,796/US$490] a year to use the NHS.
The fee will rise to £624 this year in a move that has been heavily criticised by opposition political parties.
Mr Akkad, who is also a filmmaker, said it did not make sense that NHS migrant workers, many of whom are not paid much, “be charged to access the very same institution” they work for.
“I think it has happened because the government doesn’t necessarily go to the corners of the hospitals to meet these people who are in the bottom of the pyramid when it comes to payment and when it comes to value and respect,” he told the BBC.
“The cleaners and porters and social-care workers are disproportionately non-UK nationals and they are on minimum wage.
"So I feel like the government is always after the weakest of society, the working class, the immigrants.
"Moving forward we just, as a nation, we can’t keep doing this.
“These people who’ve risked their lives, and literally the bare minimum that they can get is some support for their families, and value and respect for everything that they’ve done.”
Mr Akkad, who used to teach English in Dubai and fled Syria in 2015 after being detained by the Assad regime, estimated he would have to work 10 days to pay the £624.
“It doesn’t make any sense because we’re doing these jobs despite the risk,” he said.
On Thursday morning, Interior Ministry official James Brokenshire said the policy would be kept “under review”.
But Mr Brokenshire said the surcharge was “there to provide funding for the NHS and the basic principle that if you come to this country, that you are working, that you’ve made that contribution”.
Mr Akkad was speaking only moments before donning protective equipment to start another day cleaning the Covid-19 wards at Whipps Cross Hospital in London.
He began working there at the same time as Prime Minister Boris Johnson was admitted to hospital for Covid-19 and eventually moved to intensive care in early April.
Mr Akkad’s impassioned plea to Mr Johnson to extend the bereavement scheme for hospital cleaners, porters and care workers went viral on Wednesday.
The government quickly reversed its decision after outrage online.
“I’m immensely proud, to be honest, to be doing this job because I know we’re helping the NHS," Mr Akkad said.
"Cleaners are as vital in the NHS as doctors and surgeons and consultants are.
“I have been working at the hospital for 50 days and I spend my day with cleaners and porters and social care workers.
"We work together, we go on lunch breaks together and I see the bravery in their faces, and what they risk to continue doing these jobs despite being on minimum wage.
“So when I heard the news that we are being excluded from the bereavement scheme, I felt it was so personal to me.”
Mr Akkad's role as a filmmaker included recording his journey from Syria to Europe for the BBC programme Exodus.
He pledged to continue fighting for the rights of his co-workers.
“For the past 50 days I’ve been observing everything that is happening around me," Mr Akkad said.
"I’ve been seeing my colleagues and every day I’ve been inspired by them.
“Being a storyteller it helped me. These very inspirational people that I work with and being around them all the time, five days a week, just helps me to get that message out.
"And I will not stop here.”
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Dubai World Cup Carnival card
6.30pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-2 Group 1 (PA) US$75,000 (Dirt) 1,900m
7.05pm: Al Rashidiya Group 2 (TB) $250,000 (Turf) 1,800m
7.40pm: Meydan Cup Listed Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 2,810m
8.15pm: Handicap (TB) $175,000 (D) 1,600m
8.50pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 1,600m
9.25pm: Al Shindagha Sprint Group 3 (TB) $200,000 (D) 1,200m
10pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 2,000m
The National selections:
6.30pm - Ziyadd; 7.05pm - Barney Roy; 7.40pm - Dee Ex Bee; 8.15pm - Dubai Legacy; 8.50pm - Good Fortune; 9.25pm - Drafted; 10pm - Simsir
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Draw for Europa League last-16
Istanbul Basaksehir v Copenhagen; Olympiakos Piraeus v Wolverhampton Wanderers
Rangers v Bayer Leverkusen; VfL Wolfsburg v Shakhtar Donetsk; Inter Milan v Getafe
Sevilla v AS Roma; Eintracht Frankfurt or Salzburg v Basel; LASK v Manchester United
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Profile of Whizkey
Date founded: 04 November 2017
Founders: Abdulaziz AlBlooshi and Harsh Hirani
Based: Dubai, UAE
Number of employees: 10
Sector: AI, software
Cashflow: Dh2.5 Million
Funding stage: Series A
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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The%20specs
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The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Day 3 stumps
New Zealand 153 & 249
Pakistan 227 & 37-0 (target 176)
Pakistan require another 139 runs with 10 wickets remaining
The Specs
Price, base Dh379,000
Engine 2.9-litre, twin-turbo V6
Gearbox eight-speed automatic
Power 503bhp
Torque 443Nm
On sale now
Where to donate in the UAE
The Emirates Charity Portal
You can donate to several registered charities through a “donation catalogue”. The use of the donation is quite specific, such as buying a fan for a poor family in Niger for Dh130.
The General Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowments
The site has an e-donation service accepting debit card, credit card or e-Dirham, an electronic payment tool developed by the Ministry of Finance and First Abu Dhabi Bank.
Al Noor Special Needs Centre
You can donate online or order Smiles n’ Stuff products handcrafted by Al Noor students. The centre publishes a wish list of extras needed, starting at Dh500.
Beit Al Khair Society
Beit Al Khair Society has the motto “From – and to – the UAE,” with donations going towards the neediest in the country. Its website has a list of physical donation sites, but people can also contribute money by SMS, bank transfer and through the hotline 800-22554.
Dar Al Ber Society
Dar Al Ber Society, which has charity projects in 39 countries, accept cash payments, money transfers or SMS donations. Its donation hotline is 800-79.
Dubai Cares
Dubai Cares provides several options for individuals and companies to donate, including online, through banks, at retail outlets, via phone and by purchasing Dubai Cares branded merchandise. It is currently running a campaign called Bookings 2030, which allows people to help change the future of six underprivileged children and young people.
Emirates Airline Foundation
Those who travel on Emirates have undoubtedly seen the little donation envelopes in the seat pockets. But the foundation also accepts donations online and in the form of Skywards Miles. Donated miles are used to sponsor travel for doctors, surgeons, engineers and other professionals volunteering on humanitarian missions around the world.
Emirates Red Crescent
On the Emirates Red Crescent website you can choose between 35 different purposes for your donation, such as providing food for fasters, supporting debtors and contributing to a refugee women fund. It also has a list of bank accounts for each donation type.
Gulf for Good
Gulf for Good raises funds for partner charity projects through challenges, like climbing Kilimanjaro and cycling through Thailand. This year’s projects are in partnership with Street Child Nepal, Larchfield Kids, the Foundation for African Empowerment and SOS Children's Villages. Since 2001, the organisation has raised more than $3.5 million (Dh12.8m) in support of over 50 children’s charities.
Noor Dubai Foundation
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the Noor Dubai Foundation a decade ago with the aim of eliminating all forms of preventable blindness globally. You can donate Dh50 to support mobile eye camps by texting the word “Noor” to 4565 (Etisalat) or 4849 (du).
How to join and use Abu Dhabi’s public libraries
• There are six libraries in Abu Dhabi emirate run by the Department of Culture and Tourism, including one in Al Ain and Al Dhafra.
• Libraries are free to visit and visitors can consult books, use online resources and study there. Most are open from 8am to 8pm on weekdays, closed on Fridays and have variable hours on Saturdays, except for Qasr Al Watan which is open from 10am to 8pm every day.
• In order to borrow books, visitors must join the service by providing a passport photograph, Emirates ID and a refundable deposit of Dh400. Members can borrow five books for three weeks, all of which are renewable up to two times online.
• If users do not wish to pay the fee, they can still use the library’s electronic resources for free by simply registering on the website. Once registered, a username and password is provided, allowing remote access.
• For more information visit the library network's website.
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