No Patient Left Behind: How can we ensure world class primary care for black and minority ethnic people

Written by Musmirah Shahzada on Tuesday, July 22, 2008 16:54

This new national report by Professor Mayur Lakhani CBE reflects issues which have been identified as local concerns by Race For Health PCTs for some time.

Issues identified higlight:

A substantial communication problem exists between patients and practices
Black and minority ethnic people experience a greater disease burden
Some black and minority ethnic communities have different expectations about health and health care

The report identifies some key solutions. These include:

Close working on this issue between practices, primary health care and the PCT
Routine data collection on ethnicity and language in primary care
A range of high quality accessible interpreting / advocacy services
The development of local agreements about rights and responsibilities in relation to health care
Education and orientation for patients in relation to NHS systems
Establishing a local information hub with single point of access and investment in signposting
Commissioning of targeted health literacy programmes
Investment in citizen and community engagement
Investment in frontline customer care

Professor Lakhani’s report reflects findings at a local level also. In Westminster, the BME Health Forum’s most recent report - Primary Concern - identifies similar barriers to effective access to primary care and its recommendations provide the basis for a local response to the findings of the national report.