Ukrainian migrants and refugees arriving in Somerset will be screened for tuberculosis as part of new health checks being rolled out.

More than 400 Ukrainians have already arrived in Somerset since the outbreak of the war against Russia, with the number eventually expected to exceed 1,300, according to Somerset County Council.

The Somerset Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), which allocates the county’s healthcare resources, has been working to create “migrant health checks” where those arriving into the country can be rapidly assessed for any underlying health conditions.

Health bosses have now confirmed this will include screening for tuberculosis, given Ukraine’s large number of cases relative to the rest of Europe.

The planned health checks were discussed at a virtual meeting of the CCG’s primary care commissioning committee on Wednesday morning (June 8).

Sarah Ashe, the CCG’s interim associate director of quality and nursing, said Ukrainians were encouraged to register with a GP practice and undergo a new patient consultation as soon as possible after their arrival into the UK.

She said in her written report:  “It is recommended that Ukrainian migrants are offered an extra assessment… to address their health needs stemming from their life experiences prior to migration, the circumstances of their migration and the circumstances in which they are living in the UK.

“Ukraine has the fourth-highest TB incidence in the WHO European region, and therefore TB screening will also be required for all new entrants to the country.”

The Department for Health and Social Care guaranteed that from March 17, Ukrainians fleeing their home country would be given free access to NHS healthcare, including hospital services, GP and nurse consultations, urgent care centres and minor injury units.

Since the government’s Ukrainian resettlement schemes began, the CCG has enlisted the help of a retired GP who is also a visiting professor of public health in Ukraine.

The professor – whose name has not been released by the CCG – will head up a pilot of the migrant health checks, with the service being operated out of the Yeovil Health Centre on Middle Street in Yeovil.

Ms Ashe said: “The first pilot clinic was very successful – we assessed 17 Ukrainians. The next clinic is planned for this Saturday [June 11] and we have 21 Ukrainians booked in.”

Michael Bainbridge, the CCG’s associate director of primary care, said a “superb effort” was being made by NHS staff to “support our Ukrainian guests” while front-line health services remain under severe pressure.

He said: “Primary care and the rest of the NHS is under huge pressure, and we’ve come together to make sure we do our very best.

“This is experimental, and we’re learning and developing as we go. No doubt the model will change and develop – the situation is very dynamic.”

David Heath, who chairs the committee, said it was crucial that any Ukrainians found to have tuberculosis be provided with the appropriate treatment swiftly to prevent a wider outbreak in Somerset.

The former MP for Somerton and Frome said: “What we don’t want to see is the return of endemic tuberculosis in Somerset, which we had when I was a boy and we got rid of.”