The NHS in East Sussex is piloting a new scheme that provides help and support for migrant residents needing to access NHS services. The service works across the boundaries of NHS organisations allowing the full range of health needs to be addressed – this includes GP and dental care, hospital services and mental health.
The pilot, which is paid for through a successful bid to the Migration Impact Fund, is working through two local interpreting and translating organisations to train up a pool of bi-lingual advocates. All the advocates are already qualified community interpreters working in the county; many are East Sussex residents themselves. There are currently 25 languages covered.
Advocates will work with the person over a maximum of six sessions, identifying the desired health outcomes and working with the service user towards their agreed goals. This may include help to register with a GP or dentist, support to decide on treatment options alongside health professionals or assistance to ensure that they are receiving the range of services available to East Sussex residents.
The client is asked to complete an empowerment questionnaire at the beginning and end of the advocate’s intervention to map whether the service has helped them to better understand what health services are available, how and when to use them and to play a more active role in their health and healthcare.
During the pilot period, East Sussex residents over the age of 18 whose first language is not English can be referred into the service by anyone identifying a need. This could be health professionals, other statutory sector agencies, voluntary sector organisations and community groups, or through self-referral.
The pilot will run until August 2012 at which point the project will be fully evaluated and potentially expanded for use of other statutory services.
