Chinese and Vietnamese communities experience of health and care services in Hackney

Healthwatch Hackney worked with the Hackney Chinese Community Centre, we developed a questionnaire to look at the experience of the Chinese and Vietnamese communities in Hackney accessing Primary care services to include GP, dentistry, optician, and pharmacy as well as services at the Secondary Care level.  They spoke to 30 people.

Majority of respondents (over 70%) said they require language support in order to access health and care services. Some said they rely on help form friends/family; others seek support from their local community organisation. For most respondents this was done by the Hackney Chinese Community Service.

Nearly nine in ten were registered with a GP practice in Hackney. The majority of respondents find it difficult or impossible to understand the information they receive, or to express themselves and explain symptoms while accessing services, especially GP services.

The top four reasons why participants in the surveyed group did not access health and care services include: - Lack of interpreting services - Lack of accessible information - Lack of knowledge about available services - Lack of suitable appointment time.

 Roughly half of the respondents (4 out of 10) reported negative effects because of not speaking the same language as their doctor, with a few (3) specifically mentioning discrimination, stigma, and dismissive behaviour as part of their response. The same number (4 out of 10) reported no effect on their treatment because of the language barrier.

 Almost all of the respondents who are not proficient in English have experienced improvements in care following the use of an interpreter. Most of the patients who cannot speak English well expressed negative feelings about seeking healthcare because of the barrier. Most felt shy or embarrassed and some said they would avoid going to the doctor. It is important to mention that all but 2 respondents attend Hackney Chinese Community Service for their social and wellbeing activities, as well as to benefit from interpreting/translation support.