Learning from practice

An NHS Live Project

By working closely together, an SHA in North East London and Social Action for Health are helping local communities get better access to healthcare.

In many communities throughout the UK there is a pressing need for education on how to gain access to healthcare services. This is a challenge for SHAs running on stretched resources.

The key for North East London SHA was how to communicate this accessibility with ethnic minorities in the face of not only economic, but also cultural and linguistic barriers. "We knew that many local people were eager to learn about their local healthcare services," explains Elizabeth Bayliss, Executive Director of Social Action for Health (SAH), a voluntary organisation. "Some of these people come from war torn, violent countries and have little experience of a civic society – the idea of a welfare state is a new and extraordinary concept."

How it works
When North East London SHA first suggested the idea of training local people from ethnic minorities to act as health guides to their communities, SAH jumped at the opportunity. Says Elizabeth: "We loved the idea. We knew from our own links with the local community that there was a desperate need."

The upshot of this was the creation of 85 fully-trained ‘community health guides’, three training programmes consisting of eight half-day sessions, and three community project assistants.

Read full case study at http://www.nhslive.nhs.uk/Public/default.aspx?main=true&load=ArticleViewer&ArticleId=512