Afghan baby born without doctor in London hotel room as thousands of evacuees still ‘living in limbo’

Incident shows ‘cold reality’ facing Afghan evacuees, says charity worker

Melanie Clark holds the baby she delivered in a London hotel room. (PA)

The “cold reality” facing Afghan refugees in the UK was shown by the recent birth of a baby in a London hotel room without a doctor present, charities have said.

With paramedics unable to reach her in time, the mother, a refugee from Afghanistan, only had a volunteer to offer her assistance.

Although the woman gave birth to a baby boy without complications, the incident adds to growing concerns for the thousands of evacuees in Britain who are still living in temporary accommodation.

Melanie Clark, who previously worked for the RAF, was handing out donations when she was asked to check on a pregnant woman who was in pain.

She thought she would just have to reassure her, but ended up having to deliver her child.

Ms Clark, who is now a nurse at a hospital in Chichester, Sussex, said that the experience was “scary”, as she had never had any midwifery training.

“It was scary and nerve-wracking about whether this was going to turn out okay,” she said.

The volunteer added that greater medical care must be given to refugees in the UK or else similar incidents would happen again.

“They are registered with a GP but the level of support they have had and the knowledge of their pregnancies is very, very limited,” she noted.

Ms Clark, who has spent time in Iraq, also said the UK’s duties do not end with the arrival of refugees. Rather, the country must also offer stable futures to those who have been left “traumatised” by their experiences of war.

Her comments come just two weeks after the Afghan resettlement minister Victoria Atkins revealed that there were 11,000 refugees staying in hotels in late October.

The government has been accused of making “very slow” progress over resettling the new arrivals, with its Afghan Citizens’ Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) still “not open yet” despite almost three months passing since evacuations from Kabul.

Speaking after the recent birth, Louise Calvey, the safeguarding boss at the charity Refugee Action, said Afghan refugees in the UK were “living in limbo”.

Ms Calvey said it is “appalling” that these vulnerable people have “no settled access to employment, healthcare or education”.

“Rather than the warm welcome people were promised, they’re seeing the cold reality of our refugee protection system,” she said.

“Ministers must move quicker to get people out of hotels and integrated into our communities, where they can start to properly rebuild their lives.”

Additional reporting from PA