TDC is commissioned by the Clinical Commissioning Group to conduct health consultations with the BME communities in Brighton with the aim to gather feedback about using health services in Brighton. On the 25th of September our TDC BME Engagement Worker Sayanti organised a health consultation for East Brighton residents held at the Whitehawk Inn. The event was held in partnership with Sussex Interpreting Services (SIS) and residents were invited to share their experiences about using local and citywide health services. Some of the other service providers who were present on the day included the Hangleton and Knoll Project, the local community worker from Serendipity, the Brighton and Hove City Council Transport Planner and Wellsbourne Healthcare CIC. Residents from diverse ethnic backgrounds participated in the event and used a number of different languages to communicate – Arabic, Spanish, Russian and Oromifa. The SIS interpreters and TDC MESH worker supported the residents by translating for them and presenting their health experiences.
The participants had long term health conditions, and everyone gave positive feedback about the surgeries. We learned that the main challenge for patients with language need is arranging for an interpreter when trying to access a same day appointment. The session was the perfect opportunity to circulate information about interpreting services, local exercise and health classes and services offered by the surgeries.
Sayanti said “We were pleased to host this event where BME residents from East Brighton had an opportunity to share their health experiences and access information about local services. The participants gave some very positive feedback about the event and said they would like to have more of these in the future.”