Referring to some of the NHS’ past campaigns as “patronising”, “badly thought-out” and consistently overlooking the culturally-sensitive information needed by Britain’s ethnic communities; professionals are calling for the health authorities to invest more money and workers into effective and better informed communication strategies. The comments came following the launch of a pilot project in central Manchester this month to encourage more black men and women to ask professionals about concerns they have about their health. Operating under the slogan “Please Ask……”, the pilot, which is being headed by the National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA), is being aimed at the city’s African-Caribbean population after research commissioned by the London-based NHS department, concluded, they were the least likely community group to enquire about their health. The research carried out by healthcare publishers, Dr Foster also indicated other groups that the health service professionals are also not successfully engaging with people of whom English isn’t the first language, people with mental health problems, men and “particularly men from ethnic minority and black groups.” Whereas those from social class 1 and 2 and “educational” groups were more likely to pose questions. Speaking to Black Britain, Sue Osborn, the Joint Chief Executive of NPSA said contrary to some concerns expressed by black health workers, the pilot intends to help the more "difficult to reach" communities, protect themselves from potential health problems although “things are changing across the social spectrum and people are becoming more assertive about their rights. African-Caribbean men and women less likely challenge health professionals..... She explained the project is being aimed at African-Caribbean men and women, aged 35-50 years-old as information collated from surveys, focus groups and self-assessments showed African Caribbean people as the “least likely to ask questions and to challenge the professionals.” She continued, “this was their assessment of themselves. Men are very embarrassed and least likely to care about their health. They’re much less likely than women to go to a GP and ask questions.” “[And] I think what they’re saying is that black men are much less likely to want to use the services at all let alone go along and ask about their help.” Having worked in the health service for 30 years, Ms Osborn said NHS services often fail to tune into the cultural sensitivities of communities and are isolating many rather than engaging them. She said: "I’m sure it’s to do with the way services are structured and they probably feel unwelcome." "I don’t think our services are structured in a way that helps people to use them. I think my personal experience [is that] the particular groups they’re focussed on are people’s stereotypes of the way people want services provided and I think they’re very ethno-centric actually; we aren’t imaginative in the way we provide services…" The pilot, which is due to finish around the end of the month includes a new website, a “celebrity-packed mini-magazine” featuring interviews with Gillian Joseph and Carole Smilie. Leaflets have also been made available in GP surgeries, pharmacies, newsagents, grocers, community centres and churches. There's a need for health professionals to understand the origins of intimidation & mistrust....
She said: “As a medical society promoting the health of those in the black community, we welcome any step that the government is taking towards improving the awareness in the ethnic minority group but it’s not going to eradicate it, it might reach a few educated people who already know how to access the system.” Dr Abayomi pointed out one of the most fundamental ways of productively engaging with the community is providing crucial information in places black people are more likely to frequent such as hairdressers, schools, markets and “not the established places” where white people are more likely to go to “because very often they don’t go there, some can’t afford it and some don’t identify with it”. She added: "How many African and Caribbean people in the inner cities have access to websites? How many understand magazines even?" Dr Abayomi explained there is a melange of obstacles contributing to many members of the African and African-Caribbean communities “holding back” from government-led health services. She said: “[Many] just don’t understand how the system works.” “There is this fear of being rejected or turned away or refused and then some people don’t understand their rights to health care access.” Explaining there is a desperate need for health service workers to try and recognise the origins of the intimidation and mistrust felt by some in the black communities, which often bare the mark of cultural and historical influences, she added: “They also need to understand where these people are coming from.” “Just telling them the simple steps are still not easy to follow if they don’t understand where these people coming from.” “Africans come from largely ex-colonial situations where they weren’t entitled to health care. There were two-tier systems where the colonialists had the hospital care and the Africans only got in if there was an emergency, so to speak, it wasn’t handed to them.” Lack of resources preventing link workers going into the communities....
She added for the NHS to rely on members of the community to take the initiative and come to them, is “wrong”. She said there is a need for “some grassroots community leaders or advocates in the community that they can access.” “There needs to be that fundamental infrastructure in the community, where people can go and ask about any problem that they have.” “They need to be able to have somebody who can help them and point them in the right direction and somebody who sympathises not an establishment-based person but a community-based person.” Hanif Bobat, Policy Advisor to Manchester Race & Health Forum also said there is more of a demand for designated officers to assist ethnic minority groups in order for the available health services to be recognised and taken-up. Emphasising that the statutory services had to be more “engaging” and “proactive”, he added, “for example there aren’t any dedicated officers in the Primary Care Trusts to work with BME communities.” “So, it’s done as an additional job description on someone’s job, they’ve never really invested to make it easy to let BME communities know about the services they offer and make it more accessible.” He added the “centralised” target-driven agenda set by the DOH in London also has a significant impact on regional demands, including those of black and ethnic minority communities. He reiterated unless liaison with black communities is set as a target, the situation will not improve. He said, “the hospitals are very much target-driven, so they are going to be monitored on whether they ensure their access-times are met, so priority for engaging with BME communities go down the list.” However due to the NPSA being a national body, Ms Osborn said, there are restrictions as to how far they can get involved on a grassroots-level. She said, “we’re not in a position to have link workers into every community across the country.” She added, "we just haven’t got the resources to use the kind of engagement model [like that] and we need to see whether we can impact with a national programme.” Black communities need to take action.... With the effective engagement of different ethnic groups appearing to be at the lower end of the priority list, Mr Bobat said Britain's black communities have to be proactive and participate in pilots and surveys such as the Please Ask.... campaign, when they come along as they often end up as missed opportunities for black service users. He said: "Because our communities are very poor in taking opportunities like a pilot project or in questionnaires we don't give feedback." "And also because there is the assumption that we are doing a survey but only 2 percent of the respondents are from BME communities, this doesn't help the wider community because we don't feel these things are important." He added, "but they're actually vitally important to ensure that we take part in surveys and pilot projects because we need the evidence." Dr Abayomi pointed out with many within the black communities not taking part in the many surveys conducted by the NHS, it plays in the favour of those running the mis-directed campaigns. "I think they're [campaigns] are sometimes patronising because then they can say that they've done it and the uptake is up to the community. If the community doesn't respond then they've done their best" she said. "So, if the feedback is no good, it's garbage in and garbage out. If they don't get a satisfactory feedback and responses from their lobby, then it's been a failed campaign and there needs to be an audit into their campaign." |
Africans come from largely ex-colonial situations where they weren’t entitled to health care. There were two-tier systems where the colonialists had the hospital care and the Africans only got in if there was an emergency. 
| Scharene Pryce : Email Scharene |
The National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA)
Link : http://www.npsa.nhs.uk/
The Black Health Agency
Link : http://www.blackhealthagency.org.uk/
The African-Caribbean Medical Society (ACMS)
Link : The African-Caribbean Medical Society (ACMS