#SpeakUp small grants 2017-18 - Zest
The Health Team at Zest work closely with Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic and Refugee (BAMER) women and had been made aware of a number of issues in relation to how and why the women access GPs and other health services.
Our #SpeakUp small grants scheme awards funding to local community, voluntary, or not-for-profit groups, enabling them to engage with their communities about what matters to them.
Recommendations from the report
Communication:
- Healthcare professionals need to enable people for whom English is not their first language enough time to explain their symptoms and professionals should speak slowly so that they can be understood more easily.
- Offer double appointments to people who need to bring an interpreter with them.
- Use text messages to communicate with people who do not have much English instead of lengthy letters or phone calls.
- Offer the opportunity to discuss clinical information face-to-face to ensure that the person understands.
- If using language line for interpretation check that the interpreter speaks the same dialect and the patient can understand them.
- Provide written leaflets/information in community languages where possible.
Appointments:
- If not already doing so, set aside some appointments for urgent cases/emergencies to enable people to see a doctor quickly.
- Ensure patients know they have a choice of GP practice and can request a female doctor.
- Enable women to see a female doctor whenever this is requested.
Downloads
If you need these documents in a different format, please email info@healthwatchsheffield.co.uk or call 0114 253 6688.
Read the full report to find out more about the project and what Zest found:
