“Just some sleeping tablets, please — I don’t want to be a burden”

A request for "sleeping tablets" from an asylum seeker is often a presenting ticket over a trauma-and-destitution iceberg. Look beyond it: likely PTSD (nightmares, flashbacks, hypervigilance, avoidance) and low mood from torture/persecution and the journey — which needs a trauma-informed approach and referral (including specialist torture-survivor services), NOT sedatives/benzodiazepines. Two equity points are core: reassure his ENTITLEMENT (everyone can register with a GP and receive primary care free of charge regardless of immigration status — he must not be turned away or charged, and was right to come), countering the fear that deters vulnerable people from care; and recognise the DESTITUTION as a social emergency (not eating, isolation, unclear entitlements) needing urgent signposting to asylum-support, food and legal advice. The examinable hidden agenda is profound, not-yet-voiced trauma plus shame, fear of authority, and destitution he is too proud to disclose ("I don’t want to be a burden"); create safety and dignity, open the door gently without forcing disclosure, screen mental-health risk, and follow up to build trust — treating the whole person, not the symptom.