News

Everybody, it has been argued, carries with them patterns of thinking, perceiving, judging and acting that are not inherited but learnt: all of which distinguishes one group of people from another and defines their membership with society. In essence: their culture.

Social care has always strived to be culturally "sensitive" and culturally "comprehensive" (though it certainly hasn't always called it those things). In practice, meeting cultural needs means being aware of, for example, different religious, dietary and language choices. Indeed, language is crucial as it is the front door into someone's culture.

I recall visiting an older people's home some years ago. One resident was Indian. The other 59 were white British. He spoke no English. Staff and other residents spoke nothing but. He had no visitors. Staff generally communicated with gestures for drinks, food, toilet and bedtimes. One member of staff had found and brought in a Bollywood movie video. He seemed to enjoy it. The video was possibly the first time he had heard his own language in the three years he had been in the home.

Such a scenario, thankfully, shouldn't happen now. And certainly not at the progressive and multi-cultural Blakenhall community resource centre in Wolverhampton, a city with a 12 per cent Indian population. Formerly a residential care home, Blakenhall - a joint health and social services project - now provides a setting for home care services and day care, as well as long and short stay residential care. It is also the base for the community mental health team.

"Over the past four years we have brought a number of specialised services for older people with mental health needs under one roof," says community resource manager Anthony Hipwell. "Along with colleagues from social services and health care we formed a project group to look at services provided locally for black and minority ethnic service users."

With many service users and staff unable to speak the same language, it was apparent that the quality of service was adversely affected. Unsurprisingly, limited communication can only permit superficial relationships to develop between staff and service users.

"Obviously we have a mixed cultural background in our staffing because a lot of people who work here live locally," says Hipwell. "But we recognised the need to do something across the board."

The solution was to hold a language course for staff. The basic Punjabi language skills course covered basic greetings, clothing, parts of the body, role play, pictures, simple requests, time, and asking if someone was in pain.

"We tied in with a local college of further education," says Hipwell. "It wasn't expensive and I was able to fund it out of our small training budget. We ran the 12-week course which was three hours one evening a week. We invited colleagues from the local hospital and made sure there was a mixture of staff - not just care staff. For example, one of the administrative staff did it. She is, after all, the first port of call if people ring in. It's been very beneficial."


Staff agree. "It was really useful," says specialist support worker Andrew Proctor. "To be able to say a little bit, even just to be able to say 'hello' is, I think, a great sign of reassurance and respect. For our service users, not speaking the language can be an isolating experience. As it was only a basic course, I'm not able to fully understand service users when they answer back - but it's a start. It was a rewarding experience and I felt that I achieved something."

Although plans are afoot to run a more advanced version, one staff member at least is not waiting. Senior staff nurse Linda Pearson, who works in the day care service, has been taking evening classes in her own time. "I think it's really important," she says. "The quality of our service is so much improved. I have a huge folder of information about different Asian religions and culture that keeps expanding. There's always something else to learn or find out about."

Lessons learned

• Language classes need to be part of a positive approach to providing culturally sensitive services that encourage, for example, service users to join in activities. Art and craft work now includes Hindu and Sikh symbols. A library of books, videos and music in Asian languages is also taking shape.
• Involve carers from the community. A carers' support group for Asian elders meets monthly at the centre. "It's very well attended by about 30 people," says team leader, Julie Craig. The carers have been instrumental in bringing people into contact with services, who previously were coping on their own. 
• Make use of staff skills. One staff member (Harjinder Juttla) has produced written information on culture and dementia in four languages.