improving government service delivery to minority ethnic ... - NCCRI

In hospitals the provision of interpretation facilities is left to the discretion of management by the Department
of Health. In practice the hospital will contact a translation/interpretation agency who will then supply face to
face or telephone communication. On some occasions interpreters may have little training or experience in such
work, which can sometimes take place in extremely sensitive or traumatic situations.
At the conference in March 2006, the following statement was made about the health service in Ireland:
“ Ordinary immigrants are used as interpreters by the health service because of the
language difficulty, and this is in breach of the confidentiality clause because these
people being used as interpreters have no training whatsoever when it comes to
medical practices.” 218
218_Benedicta Attoh,
providing a minority
ethnic perspective at
the conference, African
Experience, member
of the Louth African
Women’s Group, Dundalk
branch co‐ordinator of
the Integration of African
children in Ireland (IACI).
Some GPs have substantial numbers of migrants on their books while others do not, something which can lead
to further difficulties for migrants who cannot find a GP as the latter is also the first port of call in Ireland, prior
to a referral elsewhere in the medical system. Some immigrants who are entitled to medical cards do not have
them because they may not know of their entitlements or because of bureaucratic delays. On the other hand
some migrants assume they have a right of access to services to which they are not entitled under the Irish
system, which can also lead to misunderstandings.
Case example 19 – Health
Eastern Regional Health Authority’s Strategy for Ethnic Minorities
The development of the then Eastern Regional Health Authority’s Regional Health Strategy for Ethnic Minorities
reflected a growing awareness of the unique health and support needs of persons from minority ethnic
groups. It is probable that this was first developed in the East because of the greater numbers of service users
requiring a range of health services; although this does not negate the range of initiatives taking place in the
rest of the country which addressed specific needs of asylum seekers and refugees in particular. The Strategy
proposes a series of recommendations together with the establishment of a representative forum to oversee
implementation of these recommendations. The topics addressed include the provision of interpretation
services as well as ways and means of addressing the learning, training and development needs of staff
in the health sector working with persons from minority ethnic groups. The HSE and NCCRI have already
collaborated in the production of a document on this issue.
Support to NGO sector for service provision
While certain targeted services are provided directly by the HSE to service users from minority ethnic groups
(for example voluntary health screening for asylum seekers and refugees, a maternity outreach services for
asylum seekers in a Reception Centre, and interpretation services), funding is also provided by the HSE to
a range of NGOs to provide additional identified services in acknowledgement of the fact that NGOs may
be better positioned in certain instances to deliver services. Agencies such as CAIRDE, Spirasi and Access
Ireland are examples of NGOs supported by the HSE in this way. A typical HSE-funded project, undertaken
by CAIRDE, incorporates community development principles in addressing the health and support needs of
persons from minority ethnic communities with HIV/AIDS. The HSE has already developed a similar cooperative
model through the Traveller Health Unit, where a partnership operates between the HSE and Traveller
representatives.