A review by the DoH and the Home Office is taking place to decide whether to stop all healthcare for people illegally in the country, except for emergency access.
Think tank the Institute for Public Policy Research estimates that 390,000 people would lose access to a GP if the plan is approved.
Asylum seekers were barred in 2004 from accessing free secondary health services for long-term conditions because of fears people were travelling to the UK to get treated.
Dr Richard Vautrey, deputy chairman of the GPC, said: ‘I would be very concerned if any barriers were placed in the way of primary care to anyone.
‘We have a responsibility to provide professional care to all those in the county, particularly the most vulnerable.
‘We don’t want to have a situation where we have a group of people effectively destitute on the streets without access to the most basic healthcare.’
tom.ireland@haymarket.com
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