Perceptions of access to social care within the South Asian communities in Barking and Dagenham

This is a report by Healthwatch Barking and Dagenham. The project looks at attitudes to social care within South Asian communities.

London Borough of Barking and Dagenham (LBBD) wanted to investigate the reasons that this community are not accessing social care services and see what steps they can take to guarantee that these services are accessed and used by the South Asian Community when needed.

Data was gathered using in-person surveys and focus groups in various settings, such as community organisations and places of worship. 88 residents took part in the project and answered questions about their experiences of accessing and utilising social care and gave their opinions on their perceptions of possible barriers to accessing and utilisation of social care services.

Key findings

• Only a small percentage of participants were unaware of the services provided by Adult Social Care Barking and Dagenham.
• The majority of people who had used adult social care received their support primarily in the form of aids and adaptations to the home, access to the community, and support in their own homes.
• Adult social care was referred to them by medical professionals. Both positive and negative aspects of the support they received were mentioned by the respondents, the majority of whom stated that the support either fully or partially exceeded their expectations.
• Some service users suggested perceived that they received unfair or partially unfair treatment. Religion accounted for 40% of this unfair treatment, and the language barrier for 20%, 80% of feedback accounted for other reasons which were not entirely religion or language-related.
• The majority of respondents had been empowered to make or partially make decisions related to their care, and the majority rated the quality of the service as very good, good, or somewhat good, with the minority saying it was unacceptable.
• The general practitioner (GP) was the primary information source for the community. The majority of respondents expressed the opinion that social workers only partially comprehended the difficulties they faced in obtaining adult social care, which were caused by a variety of problems that are covered in detail in the report.
• For the vast majority, having a social worker with a similar ethnic background to them was crucial.
• The notion that members of minority ethnic communities are more likely to take care of one another was generally not supported by survey participants, however, some respondents indicated that their family viewpoint could influence their perceptions around adult social care.
• When it comes to social care, the South Asian community places a high value on dietary restrictions and religious requirements. A portion of the population still associates stigma with social care, suggesting that there is a pervasive negative perception of someone who requires and receives social care support.
• The majority of respondents indicated that receiving social care support will not conflict with their cultural identity, indicating that they are likely to accept it in the future.

There are recommendations in this report.

1. While there wasn’t any feedback shared that would suggest that this issue is specific to the South Asian community in Barking and Dagenham, Healthwatch recommends ensuring continuity of services, and providing enough support hours to enable those dependent on support to lead fulfilling lives. Healthwatch advises focusing on examples of best practices, as some respondents expresseda high level of satisfaction with the quality of the service.

2. Healthwatch recommends that Adult Social Care staff are trained in cultural responsiveness and religious literacy, to enable a greater understanding of the religious, cultural, and dietary needs of the South Asian community and how this may affect communication.

3. Healthwatch recommends that best practices are encouraged and used when supporting vulnerable service users.

4. Healthwatch recommends that Adult Social Care services should build relationships with places of worship to enable engagement with the wider South Asian community to inform these residents on the services available and how to access them.

5. Healthwatch recommends that when supporting members of the South Asian community, efforts should be made to assign a worker from a similar ethnic background to a client, to ensure a shared understanding of culture, language, diet and religion, and the potential stigma associated with accessing services. This is particularly important for those who are more vulnerable and are less likely to be able to express themselves.

6. Healthwatch advises that information on how to recognise and report adult safeguarding concerns is shared in the most widely spoken South Asian languages to educate the community about the significance of identifying someone who is at risk of harm or neglect.

7. Healthwatch recommends that the Adult Social Care are sensitive to the different needs of those who live in multigenerational households having family support; as these individuals could potentially be the most vulnerable to the stigma of receiving social care. Any messaging should make it clear that using social care services should not be seen as neglect from the family, work on empowerment to make feel the family is in control.

8. Healthwatch recommends that local religious leaders should be equipped with the knowledge and communications to be able to deliver information about social care to a wider community to increase trust with the wider community.

9. Healthwatch recommends that translation services are well advertised to enable people to feel able to access the service.

There are no follow up actions in this report. The provider has responded.