"Brown had been funded by the Montserratian government whose budget is largely subsidised by the UK to travel to England to receive treatment from the NHS that was not available at home. Once in the UK she was unable to stay with relatives, and was told she did not have the right to housing or free medical treatment because of her status as a British overseas territory (BOT) citizen which differs from that of British citizenship."
"'If I had known all of these things [would happen to me] I would have stayed home and died in my bed in peace.' Photograph: Cherry Brown I became ill, can't manage work any more then, I'm sleeping in a park. I am homeless, she said. I just can't understand it. Travelling on a passport that's British. Ryan Hayman, the chief executive of Swanley town council, said he paid for a hotel for Brown and was later able to arrange temporary accommodation,"
A 69-year-old Montserratian woman, Cherry Brown, was found sleeping rough in a park in Swanley, Kent, after travelling to England to receive NHS treatment funded by the Montserrat government. She was told she had no right to housing or free medical treatment because her British overseas territory citizenship differs from British citizenship. Brown has hypertension and needs two knee replacements. Local council funded temporary hotel accommodation then limited facilities, and she began receiving NHS bills. Kent council provides a small weekly stipend. The Home Office offered to cancel alleged debts only if she returned to Montserrat, leaving her without care. Montserrat’s budget is largely subsidised by the UK and has been devastated by natural disasters.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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