Putting people first: Equality and Diversity Matters 2 - Think Local Act ...

40 Putting people first – equality and diversity matters 2about these may be found from mainstreamhealth services such as GPs or from localvoluntary sector organisations.End-of-life careSerious illness, death and dying can increase theimportance of ethnic, gender and faith identitiesand intensify experiences and feelings of socialexclusion for older people. Yet, at this difficultpoint, many black and minority ethnic people findaccess to palliative care services mystifying. 57The palliative care, older people and ethnicity(PALCOPE) project has produced a rangeof information for health and social careprofessionals and for black and minority ethnicpeople using services, available from the PolicyResearch Institute on Ageing and Ethnicity (seethe resources section).Enabling people to feel at home – goodpracticeAsk people about their preferred food and try tomeet these needsLook at ways for people using the service tocook for themselves if they wishThink creatively about meeting people’s dietaryrequirements – for example, consider offeringmenu choices that reflect a range of cultures toeveryoneAsk people how they prefer to eat their foodEnable people living in care homes topersonalise their own spaceAsk people about changes to the communalareas and act on a range of views, rather thanthe majority viewEstablish with each individual what theirpreferences are for personal care and how thehelp should be providedMake changes to the facilities, if required, tomeet people’s personal care requirementsAsk people whether they have any religious orspiritual practice or requirements and how theservice can respect or facilitate theseSupport people to see health professionals oftheir choice and to use medicines from theirown cultures or non-traditional medicines(within an appropriate framework of medicationpolicy and individual risk assessment)57. Gunaratam, Y (2006), Ibid