Access to health and social care services for Latin American Communities in Southwark

Healthwatch Southwark wanted to explore the accessibility of health and social care services for Latin American communities in Southwark. It responds to feedback they have received that levels of Latin American engagement with health and social care services remain low. Overall, they engaged with 67 Latin American residents in Southwark.

The majority of respondents have experienced barriers to accessing healthcare, particularly primary care services such as GPs. The foremost challenge identified by respondents is language barriers, referring to difficulties accessing interpreters, and information and paperwork in Spanish.

A lack of information around migrants’ entitlements to health and social care in the UK, as well as services’ overreliance on online and telephone communications, further prevents this group from accessing health and social care.

Many Latin Americans have experienced hostile behaviour from service providers, particularly in GP surgeries. Respondents described feeling discriminated against because they are Latin American, especially if they do not have full English proficiency.

 Respondents also explained that the needs of individual communities are not met because diversity across the Latin American community, including dialects and countries of origin, is not captured by diversity monitoring. As a result, many respondents expressed feelings of alienation and distrust towards healthcare providers.

Finally, they heard that service users are struggling to navigate GP booking systems, referrals processes and charges for health documents. These issues are exacerbated by additional challenges faced by Latin American communities including low-paid work and lack of access or ability to use digital technology, which negatively impacts their ability to access health and social care.

The report contains a number of recommendations covering include the provision of translated informational materials, increasing the availability of interpreters and Spanish-speaking staff, and providing diversity and inclusion training for service providers.