An investigation into the training and development needs of bilingual workers in community settings in the NHS

Abstract

ABSTRACT Two of the authors, Ed Hooke and Sheila Wirz, are involved in a project examining the training and career development needs of bilingual workers working in the NHS in community settings. A particular focus of the study is how these issues relate to the delivery of speech and language therapy services. In 1992, the Government published a White Paper, entitled ‘Health of the Nation’, in which it demonstrated its awareness of the particular health needs of people from ethnic minority groups, ‘It will be necessary to consider both the implications of… differences for overall strategies and also to ensure that the specific needs of the people in black and ethnic minority groups are targeted’. Many services employ bilingual workers to facilitate access for people who are from ethnic minority groups and who speak little or no English. These workers are employed in a variety of roles with various titles, including bilingual co‐workers (for example, College of Speech Therapists, 1991), health advocates, sessional intepreters, and link workers. However, there may be problems for these workers in terms of status, career structure, access to training, confidentiality, etc. In December 1993, the Secretary of State launched a ‘Programme of Action’ to promote equality of employment for ‘… ethnic minority staff in the NHS’. This programme ‘… addressed the barriers facing ethnic minority staff and which sometimes prevent the NHS from providing the best possible care for all its patients.’ The first two (of eight) goals in the Programme of Action relate to ‘ “Recruitment and Selection” of ethnic minority staff in areas and grades where they are under‐represented and “Staff Development” to maximise the skills and potential of all personnel in a multiracial NHS workforce’. The training and career structure of bilingual workers in the NHS community settings is the stimulus for this investigation. This presentation sets out to give an increased understanding and awareness of the work practices of bilingual workers and their relationship with clients and health professionals. Profiles of bilingual workers from different Trusts are compared, including recruitment patterns, pay structures, qualifications, and existing training aspirations. The study seeks to identify, through interviews, the training needs of bilingual workers as perceived by them, their managers and professional colleagues (initially concentrating on speech and language therapists), and to identify specific training materials for meeting these needs. The question of whether training needs could be met through NVQs for assistants in therapy services is also addressed. The project is being conducted at the Centre of International Child Health at the Institute of Child Health in collaboration with Camden and Islington Community Health Services NHS Trust which serves a population with a large proportion of people from ethnic minorities. Funding is from the Department of Heath NHS Management Executive.