An influx of immigrants in Croydon, attributed in part to the borough hosting the UK’s only asylum screening unit, is “adding a strain to the whole local health economy,” according to an NHS report.

Croydon Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) said many of the 2,000 migrants moving to Croydon each year did not register with a GP and consequently put pressure on health services as they were “more likely to attend hospital in the first instance” if they are ill.

The CCG's annual report says the influx of migrants to the borough is “partly as a result of the presence of the Home Office within Croydon” and that he greatest impact has been on Croydon Health Services, the NHS trust that runs Croydon University Hospital.

The hospital’s A&E admissions rose one per cent from 123,247 in 2014/2015 to 124,313 in 2015/2016, according to the report.

In the same period outpatient attendances at the hospital have climbed 14 per cent from 97,211 to 110,638.

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A CCG spokeswoman said: “As our primary care system is particular to the UK, many people arriving new to the area may not initially realise that they can register with a GP.

“We have a range of urgent care services in place to meet immediate health needs.”

John Goulston, chief executive of Croydon Health Services, said: “Croydon faces specific issues around deprivation and the underlying healthcare needs of our population, which is set to rise by 20,000 over the next 10 years.

“These are known challenges which we factor into all our plans so we can manage demand and meet the needs of local people.”

The asylum screening unit in Lunar House, Wellesley Road, is the only place where someone can make an in-country application for asylum in the UK.

Last year Croydon Council leader Tony Newman denounced a £4 million reduction in funding for looking after hundreds of child refugees as “completely unacceptable” and called on the Home Office to restore it.

The cut, which last year amounted to a fifth of the authority’s £20 million budget for caring for young refugees, was later restored by the Home Office.

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The CCG, which pays for the majority of health services in the borough, said people moving to Croydon from inner London and the south of England were piling on additional pressure.

There are 398,122 people registered with a GP in Croydon, compared to 394,650 a year ago, with the CCG receiving £1,054 in funding per patient.

The CCG has posted an end of year deficit of £10.8 million, taking its cumulative deficit to £43.7 million.