The Minority Ethnic Elders Advocacy Project (MEEA)

Access to Statutory Services: from the perspective of both Minority Ethnic Elders and External Organisations

About the MEEA ProjectThe MEEA project is a pan-Wales project, in which NWREN is working in partnership with lead partner, RaceEquality First (REF), South East Wales Regional Equality Council (SEWREC) and Swansea Bay Regional EqualityCouncil (SBREC). The three-year project aims to provide an independent advocacy service to Minority EthnicElders (MEE) aged 50+.

About NWRENThe North Wales Regional Equality Network (NWREN) works across all areas of equality with a range of partnersto eliminate discrimination and disadvantage in all its forms.The research was carried out by NWREN as part of the MEEA Project and summarises the research findings onexperiences of minority ethnic elders across the North of Wales on accessing healthcare and other statutoryservices with a focus on provision of own dialect interpreting services.

Summary report written and produced by NWREN as part of the MEEA ProjectNWREN, February 2015, Belinda Gammon.A full, referenced, copy of this report is available from www.nwren.org

The Project Beneficiary Participants(45) came from Chinese, EuropeanPortuguese, Hong Kong Chinese,Indian, Irish, Singaporean andZimbabwean individuals andcommunities based in Gwynedd,Denbighshire and Wrexham. Dialects spoken (13) includedCantonese, Mandarin, German,European Portuguese, Gujurati,Hakka, Hindi, Malay, Urdu, Punjabi toSwahili and Zimbabwean.

Promoting equality • challenging discrimination • upholding human rights

Access to Statutory Services: from the perspective of both Minority Ethnic Elders and External Organisations

Recommendation 1Without the resources and benefits assumed in the South of Wales, the North of Wales has to develop morelocalised solutions.

Recommendation 2There is a need for all organisations across North Wales to develop bespoke awareness-raising trainings that are

appropriate, economical and feasible. They should focus on all aspects of the Protected Characteristicsunder the Equality Act 2010 (age; disability; gender reassignment; marriage and civil partnership;

pregnancy and maternity; race; religion and belief; sex; sexual orientation).

Recommendation 3Multi-language buttons on the BCUHB and other statutory services websites would enable

service users to make an application for interpreting provision when they wish to accessthe service. This low cost option would allow service users to progress their enquiry tothe next level.

Recommendation 4The recommendation is that Service Provision of ESOL should be reviewed at bothregional and Welsh Assembly Government level, with new, guaranteed provisions being

made for non-European service users.

Recommendation 5The disparity between the findings and the activities of agencies (such as BCUHB and others)

illustrates a need for the development of a generic protocol across agencies to empower serviceusers to request interpretation services. As in the case of Health, the need was highlighted for

increased awareness with General Practitioners and frontline staff in primary care ensuring that,together with service users, the correct dialect is identified.

Recommendation 6Statutory and voluntary agencies should tackle issues of lack of interpretation services in a joined-up and unifiedfashion, with all sectors working under one united agenda, with clear agreement on how it will be funded:informed by expertise that exists within both the voluntary sector and local communities. For example,establishing a bank of trained community interpreters from across the region.

Access to Statutory Services: from the perspective of both Minority Ethnic Elders and External Organisations

Conclusion 1There are many different languages and specific dialects spoken in North Wales, including Welsh and signlanguage: lack of access to interpreting provision is linked to a risk to health and well-being.

Conclusion 2Participants reported experiencing a lack of realisation, on the part of frontline staff in both primary andsecondary health care and other statutory services in the North of Wales, that time, translation and outcome arelinked. In health care, these findings were repeated from the point of accessing support, to receivingtreatment, through to the transition to home-care.

Conclusion 3In order to apply for a translation service, the service user must be able to read andunderstand written English/Welsh: participants disclosed that they did not know whatservices or help were available to them.

Conclusion 4With varying levels of spoken English, participants said that when they are unwell, or incrisis, they naturally prefer to communicate in their first language. However, bothparticipants and service providers agreed continued and increased access to ESOLclasses would facilitate community cohesion.

Conclusion 5The shortage of interpreters was universally commented upon, which surprised theagencies, who were making their best efforts to meet this need.

Currently, BCUHB “provide interpretation services via a contract with Wales Interpretationand Translation Service (WITS). The Health Board have developed a protocol to guide staff usingthis service. BCUHB reported that staff awareness of the policy requirement is raised regularly andrecognise that in practice interpretation support is not always actioned in a timely manner. They areworking to address this.”

Conclusion 6This research was designed to bring together service users and providers to discuss difficult issues standing onopposite sides of the same coin. What transpired was a clear, open and honest communication, revealing that theservice users’ difficulties reflected service providers’ worries and concerns.

One family had to wait 15 years for anappropriate service…“if you have difficultywith your GP in primary care – there is no wayyou’ll ever get to secondary care”. If you arenot understood within the primary caresystem, you’ll never even reach secondarycare to know if there are problems or not.This raises the question of the prevalence ofincidences of un-diagnosed health problems in ME populations.

Participants disclosed some examples ofdiabetes sufferers in hospital notunderstanding the menu and having to waitfor family members to visit them in hospital inorder to translate for them, so they couldunderstand menus and instructions regardingmedicines and procedures prescribed. Thesituation led to being presented withinappropriate food, which in some cases led toundesirable fluctuations in blood-sugar levels.

Poor translation affects not just the individualbut the whole family and the wholecommunity. Family members, sometimes achild or young adult, are often asked totranslate in inappropriate situations, causingembarrassment and distress. Participantsdiscussed fears of the dangers inherent in suchsituations, of mis-translation of medical terms– thereby placing further stress on the family.

Service Providers are aware, at a strategic level, of their duty of care to provide interpreting services: “Language is not a choice, it is a need. People do not choose their language or their circumstances”.

Access to Statutory Services: from the perspective of both Minority Ethnic Elders and External Organisations

The North Wales Regional Equality Network (NWREN) works across all areas of equality with arange of partners. As a charity we are committed to:

• Work towards the elimination of discrimination and disadvantage in all its forms • To promote equality of opportunity and good relations between all persons through understanding and addressing issues of discrimination and inequality • To work towards upholding the human rights of all people

NWREN services include:

• Drop in centres • Awareness raising training on equality, diversity and hate crime • Assist in consultation and community engagement • Provide training at all levels • Deliver interactive sessions and workshops for staff, volunteers and the community • Recording, monitoring and responding to hate crime • Support with strategic and policy development and impact assessments

We are a charitable organisation that seeks to eliminate discrimination in all its forms. If you feel that you have been treated unfairly, you can talk to us in confidence.Please contact NWREN for further information of services offered.

www.nwren.org info@nwren.org 01492 622 233

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Promoting equality • challenging discrimination • upholding human rights

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