Asylum seekers locked down in town centre hotel after scabies outbreak

by · Mail Online

Hundreds of asylum seekers have been placed into quarantine due to an outbreak of scabies at a town centre hotel controversially turned into migrant accommodation.

The arrival of almost 300 men at the Best Western Cresta Court Hotel in Altrincham, Greater Manchester without any official announcement divided the prosperous town amid accusations locals were ‘kept in the dark’.

Claims that the men would be given private healthcare – later debunked – provoked uproar.

Now it has emerged that movement into and out of the hotel has been suspended after the microscopic mite infection was detected.

One of the migrants - many of them recent arrivals after illegally crossing the English Channel on small boats – had scabies when he moved in, passing the condition to  fellow residents.

The asylum seekers – who are legally entitled to free NHS care – have been advised to speak to a GP at the hotel if they have symptoms, which include intensely itchy rashes.

According to Serco, the private contractor running the Cresta Court on behalf of the Home Office, there are currently ‘a small number’ of cases at the former hotel.

A spokesman said: ‘All of the necessary steps are being taken in line with NHS recommendations to stop the spread and anyone experiencing symptoms is being asked to see a GP who is at the hotel.

Refugees housed at the Cresta Court Hotel, where there has been an outbreak of scabies,  wave and make a heart sign as participants in a Unity Rally outside express their solidarity 
As the Unity Rally was in progress, other locals expressed their opposition to the presence of the migrants, calling for homeless people to be housed first, among other messages
Hundreds of asylum seekers have been placed into quarantine due to an outbreak of scabies at the hotel in Altrincham, Greater Manchester

‘Additionally all movement has been stopped in and out of the hotel during the outbreak to prevent the disease spreading further.’

What is scabies?

Scabies is a contagious skin disease that causes intense itching. It is caused by a tiny parasitic mite, Sarcoptes scabiei, that burrows under the skin and lays eggs. The symptoms are easily detected: aside from itching that gets worse at night, the disease causes a raised rash or spots. On white skin, the marks look red, while on brown or black skin they are darker; they usually consist of lines on the skin with a dot at one end. Anyone can get scabies, which spreads through close skin contact and requires prompt treatment to prevent spreading. Typically, the entire body is affected apart from the head and neck, with the rash visible between the fingers, under the arms, and around the wrists, waist, groin and bottom.

In a statement to the Messenger newspaper – which first revealed the outbreak - local authority Trafford Council told: ‘It is a common condition that our team often deal with in a range of settings.’

Scabies is an itchy rash caused by mites and is spread through close skin contact.

While symptoms are not usually serious it can take up to 8 weeks for the rash to appear, according to the NHS.

It advises treatment with a prescription cream or lotion and to wash clothing and bedding at 60C or above.

There was shock at the end of October when local businesses were informed the Cresta Court – a fixture of the town’s hospitality scene since the 1970s and previously part of the Best Western franchise – was shutting its doors.

As word spread, a public meeting was held which 175 worried residents expressed concerns about whether the new arrivals had undergone background checks, pointing out that the hotel was close to several schools.

Locals also asked about the impact on ‘stretched’ health services just three months after the permanent closure of the minor injuries unit at Altrincham Hospital was announced.

Addressing residents in footage that was widely shared online, Nathan Evans, Conservative group leader at Trafford Council, said it was his ‘understanding’ that a private ‘doctors’ system’ had been given a contract to provide healthcare for the asylum seekers.

The presence of the migrants at the Altrincham hotel left the town divided - even before the scabies outbreak came to light
It is understood that roughly 300 asylum seekers are being housed at the hotel. They are entitled to free NHS care while claims are assessed
Migrants are seen outside the hotel, the closure of which led to the cancellation of parties, weddings and functions - much to the annoyance of locals

Mail Online later revealed that health cover for the migrants at the Cresta Court - owned by a group led by former BBC Director General Greg Dyke - will in fact be provided by not-for-profit GTD Healthcare.

GTD stressed that it provides only NHS-commissioned services and not private services.

Asylum seekers are entitled to free NHS care while claims are assessed.

Labour-run Trafford council later revealed it was given almost three weeks’ notice of the plans, having been informed by the Home Office and contractors Serco on October 8 that they were ‘considering’ using the Cresta Court as ‘temporary’ migrant accommodation.

In a statement to a council meeting, leader Tom Ross, said his officials responded with ‘serious concerns regarding the location and the potential pressures on local services it could create’.

He said they were ‘assured that should the Home Office be minded to proceed, there would be a meeting arranged with the council’.

However with ‘no further dialogue or information’, they were ‘deeply concerned on October 25 to receive less than three days’ notice’ that the hotel was being converted to asylum accommodation.

Since then, Mr Ross said the council had been ‘working with the police, the NHS, the home office, Serco and community representatives seeking to ensure the smooth running of the operation and to minimize the impact on the community’.

Migrants were spotted at the hotel earlier this month - understood to be from Syria, Yemen, Iran and Somalia 

In response to the revelation that the local council knew about the plan three weeks in advance, local Tory councillors accused its leadership of having been ‘at best asleep at the wheel’.

More than 6,500 people have now signed a petition asking for the migrants to be housed elsewhere.

The conversion of the Cresta Court comes in spite of Labour’s manifesto pledge to end the use of hotels, barges and military sites as accommodation for asylum seekers.

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Locals 'kept in the dark' over asylum seeker hotel plans despite council given three weeks' notice

Similar concerns to those expressed in Altrincham are being voiced 180 miles south in the similarly genteel Datchet, in Berkshire a village in the shadow of Windsor Castle.

Here, some residents are threatening to sell up and leave, after the local 200-bed hotel was turned into a holding centre for asylum seekers.

Last month a Home Office spokeswoman said: ‘This Government inherited an asylum system under unprecedented strain, with thousands stuck in a backlog without their claims processed.

‘We are committed to working with local stakeholders and conduct mandatory identity and security checks on all small boat arrivals to ensure public safety is maintained.’

Trafford Council said its public health team had been made aware of ‘a small number of cases of scabies’ at the hotel.

In a statement it said: ‘Council officers are working closely with the hotel management team to deal with the issue.

‘Scabies is a very mild illness that, once identified, is easily treated. It is a common condition that our team often deal with in a range of settings.’