What has been delivered?

The EACH Cultural Awareness Project – Sue Hay, Project Worker

What is the EACH Project?

Embedding Ambassadors in Community Health (EACH) is a three year European Union funded project (2011-14) focused on the East of England region and designed to help frontline NHS staff improve the provision of effective and culturally appropriate healthcare to recently arrived third country women.

Project aim & objectives

Aim: To better enable NHS frontline staff to understand and meet the health needs and expectations of 3rd country women in their localities. Objectives:

• Increased confidence, skills and knowledge on providing healthcare to third country women

• Increased awareness of health issues affecting them, and equality issues and obligations

• Ability to adapt service provision to increase access • More efficient use of resources

 

What we provide

Intercultural awareness workshops for NHS frontline staff on meeting the health needs of third country migrant womenWorkshops on the role of Interpreters in HealthcareOpen Dialogue Workshops – NHS reps & migrant women exploring quality of care locally

Who delivers the workshops?

Ten local community organisations across the regionFour interpreting & translation agenciesIn Peterborough, Millfield Medical Centre and the CCG have held contracts to deliver the EACH Project workshops for Peterborough health staff as a whole (previously Public Health at the City Council & before that, Public Health at the PCT)

Recruiting our workshop leaders

The Peterborough Workshops

We have run 16 workshops in Peterborough in 24 months of operationsThere have been approx. 150 participantsIn addition to these, we ran an ‘Open Dialogue Workshop’ giving NHS staff an open forum to discuss access to healthcare with local migrant women – this attracted over 20 participants

Workshops with migrant women – ‘Open Dialogue Workshops’

Open Dialogue Workshop – key messages from migrant women

Language support from NHS rather than familyGPs role in asking for interpreters for at hospitalMore support with mental healthMisunderstanding appointments systemsMisunderstanding medication/prescribing decisionsLittle information about health promotion optionsMore multi-ethnic health staff“I learnt that I should visit the doctor about mental and physical illness– not keep it to myself”

Participant’s-eye view of a workshop

“I can confirm that even six months after the workshop, what I learned certainly had a lasting impact. It was excellent to have the freedom to be able to ask whatever I wanted to, rather than have a restricted agenda … this group focused on real lives and how they are lived out, and real people. This encourages understanding between different cultures… we are all the same inside, just do things a little differently on the outside.”

For more information

Sue HayProject Worker – the EACH Project (Embedding Ambassadors in Community Health)(e) sue.hay@eelga.gov.uk(m) 07920-257-964