Haringey PCT ... Making services accessible to all
"The work we do around race should be led by the actual need rather than just us telling communities what they need." Jonathan Barnwell, Assistant Director, Refugees, Race and Health, Haringey Teaching PCT.
Haringey's directory is laying the foundations for a more accessible NHS, not just for the community of today, but for future generations
Staff at Haringey Teaching Primary Care Trust knew there were a huge number of community groups catering for black and minority ethnic people in the local area.
But they were still amazed by the response when they started a project to pull them all together into one database.
Since beginning to contact community groups to create a borough-wide directory of ethnic minority organisations and health-related services, hundreds have responded, eager to be included in the first directory of its kind. "The response has been fantastic," says Teresa Edmans, Health and Regeneration Consultant, who is leading work on the directory. "Many of the organisations are extremely small, some are part-time and for some English is not their first language. For many, this is the first time they are being reached by the Trust, so it is very exciting."
Mixed borough
According to the 2001 Census, over fifty per cent of Haringey's population is from an ethnic minority, making it one of the most diverse in the country. The borough also has a high proportion of refugees and asylum seekers, who are particularly vulnerable to health problems complicated by unemployment, poor housing, language barriers and exclusion.
The thinking behind the directory is that knowing which groups and activities are out there will help forge better relationships with parts of the community that can be difficult to reach and, in turn, help them access and influence healthcare provision. The directory is just part of a much wider strategy by the Trust to put racial equality at the centre its work, which also includes attempts to make the workforce more representative and the strong involvement of the local community in the organisation's decisions on service delivery. "We were clear that the work we do around race should be led by the actual need rather than us just telling communities what they needed," says Jonathan Barnwell, Assistant Director, Refugees, Race and Health. "That's why this is so important. It is creating something that will help people access services which can improve their health."
For the long term
A team of three people at the PCT began contacting organisations last summer (2004), working under the guidance of a steering group which included local minority organisations. The team contacted local umbrella groups, the local authority and drew information from existing directories. More than 200 groups have responded so far. "It is a huge task, but while Rome wasn't built in a day, some of it was," says Jonathan. "We wanted to create something which can be an example of good practice for others."
He says the aim of the project is a living, breathing directory which is frequently updated. "We want it to be useful. It's no good if it's just sitting on a shelf gathering dust and is out of date in six months." As well as listing groups and societies, the directory will also include health-related activities aimed at people from ethnic minorities, such as a Turkish women's yoga group or black carers' support network. Although the format has not been finalised, the directory - a draft of which is expected to printed at the end of November (2004) - is likely to be in a ring-binder, so that it can be easily amended. "We have a large refugee population in Haringey, so it is a very mobile community," says Teresa. "People move in and move out, or funding runs out, so keeping the directory up to date will be very important."
The directory will be available in GPs surgeries, health centres, libraries and community centres and a fully searchable version will be put online. Local people are to be consulted about issues such as which languages it should be printed in.
It is hoped that by helping people from ethnic minorities create new links and support networks, the directory will indirectly help improve their physical and mental health.
"If a Somali woman's mother becomes infirm and needs support, we want this directory to be able to help her," says Jonathan. "We want her to be able to go to her local library or community centre and find a support group for carers from a similar background as herself."
Teresa agrees. "It's about seeing people in the round, rather than just looking at the health side," she says. "You might have a Kurdish woman who is a refugee, who has just had a baby, who is isolated and alone. She might be a survivor of rape, she might be depressed. We hope this directory will help her find a women's group that can help support her."