DOCTORS in Radcliffe are struggling to cope with the medical demands of more than 100 asylum-seekers who have moved into the town.

The families are fleeing from threats and persecution in trouble spots such as Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Turkey, and Sierra Leone.

Many arrive in Britain without proper medical records and treating them is made more difficult because of language barriers, said a leading GP this week.

In Radcliffe, Bury Council has housed 12 single adults and six families, comprising nine adults and ten children, seeking asylum, while an undisclosed number of other asylum-seekers are also being dealt with though private accommodation.

The town's GPs report that they have seen patient numbers rise by more than 100 as a result. The matter was discussed at a meeting of the Bury South Primary Care Group, which has resolved to invite a member of the health and social services asylum-seekers team to its next board meeting.

Group chairman Dr Brian Sopher said: "GPs in Radcliffe are concerned at the number of asylum-seekers placed with them, and the extra work burden it causes."

He added: "Many arrive in our surgeries in a distressed state with no medical records. That, and the problem of communicating in a foreign language, makes things particularly difficult."

To tackle the problem, the group will look to draw up a primary care service, tailored to the special needs of what threatens to become an ever-increasing number of asylum-seekers.

Dr Sopher, whose practice is at Unsworth Medical Centre, added that such a service would address such things as health, social care and nutrition.