DHEK BHAL - Healthwatch Bristol

DHEK BHAL 23 FEBRUARY 2016 Dhek Bhal Day Centre caters for South Asian women from the age of 55 upwards from Bristol and South Gloucestershire areas. Dhek Bhal was established to help elderly women to meet for friendship and mutual support at a convenient location to help maintain their independence. Healthwatch facilitated a focus group to introduce participants to Healthwatch and to support them to comment on the health and social \\tcffileserver\sharedfolders\PROJECTS\HEALTHWATCH\Healthwatch care services they have accessed. Bristol\Engagement\engagement reports Bristol\Individual pieces of engagement reports\2016\HwBristol visit to Dhek Bhal.docx

DHEK BHAL 23 FEBRUARY 2016

WELLS ROAD SURGERY

Dhek Bhal’s mission is to promote the health and social wellbeing of South Asian people living in Bristol and South Gloucestershire through a range of services. Dhek Bhal is a Punjabi word and translated in English means caring for or looking after.

KNOWLE

Dhek Bhal believes that everyone in the South Asian community:

Healthwatch that

has rights and responsibilities and is entitled to dignity and respect;  has the right to quality services to meet individual needs;  has the right to opportunities which will promote individual development;  has the right to information;  has the right to make choices;  should be able to contribute to the development of services directly or through a representative, family member or advocate. Healthwatch recognises that many elderly people in general may feel uncomfortable complaining about a health and social service they use and so gave people the opportunity to provide comments anonymously. This approach helped the group feel more open and able to speak freely about the services they use. 

Commentator informed

her doctor and nurse provide a good service supporting her with depression and dementia.

Healthwatch spoke to the group introducing them to Healthwatch and clearly explaining in English as well as in Punjabi/Urdu the purpose of the visit, this helped to reassure people whose first language was Urdu and Punjabi to understand why Healthwatch was there and helped some people feel reassured that they could communicate in their mother tongue if they wished. The presentation was clearly delivered to ensure that

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everyone, regardless of disability or special needs (for example people who were hard of hearing), had understood and felt comfortable with Healthwatch being in the group. The multi-lingual presentation helped everyone understand the concept of what Healthwatch provided. There was an opportunity for people who spoke no English or limited amounts of English to communicate in the language which they felt most comfortable with when participating in the focus group. The Healthwatch staff member was also able to speak in another language practicing language skills and communicating in different methods to reach out to the group in the best way possible to suit their needs. The staff member’s language skills were used a lot when discussing one to one feedback from service users as some preferred talking to Healthwatch in Urdu and Punjabi. Tamil was also used and the commentator’s support worker translated her comments or Healthwatch. The day center group meets every Tuesday and is generally a very welcoming group. The group was happy to take part in the Healthwatch workshop and service users were quite happy to talk. The centre had a warm, friendly and kind atmosphere and made all people feel welcomed regardless of their religious or non-religious beliefs. Staff made people feel very welcome which came across very strongly. The staff had a kind and caring approach with all the people attending the day centre. The service users and staff enjoyed speaking to Healthwatch and invited Healthwatch to come back again. Contact details for the daycentre Tel: 0117 9146671/ 9548885 Fax: 0117 9146671 Email: [email protected] Website: www.dhekbhal.org.uk

The aims of the focus group were for Healthwatch to:  speak to service users and help them feel comfortable in commentating on their experiences of using health and social services;  reassure service users that all comments given are recorded as anonymous thus encouraging people to free and more able to speak openly about their experiences;  explore people’s comments about the services they use;  break down any language barriers to support everyone to feel welcomed, involved and able to participate.

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Key themes in feedback gathered  Mixed views about the doctor surgeries and health centres people use.  People waiting for appointments and operations and experiences of waiting a long period of time for hospitals to respond with dates.  A number of people were happy with the standard of care received from their health centres when they were ill or suffering from various illnesses and conditions.  A small number of people commented on receiving home visits when they were very unwell or needed medical assistance. You Said….. Primary care  The commentator spoke Tamil and their views were translated into English by her support worker. She informed Healthwatch (HW) that she was happy in attending the day centre and is now speaking to other service users. Also she feels that her confidence has grown and that she enjoys attending.  Commentator informed HW that there should be one nurse available just to see to the diabetic patients, she says that when she attends for her blood test she finds it difficult to get her results and said that she has to call the surgery herself to find out her test results. She feels that it should be the surgery’s responsibility to call the patient and inform them of their results. Another aspect that she is unhappy about is that she can only discuss one problem and was told that if she had another matter of concern she would have to make another appointment.  Commentator’s support worker helped explain her comments and translated from Tamil to English. She said that she was happy with the care and support her doctors provide and added that they would made home visits when she was very unwell which she appreciated. Commentator has mental health issues and takes medication to help her with her condition.  Commentator said that she does not speak very good English so takes her daughter or carer to her doctor’s appointments to help with the language barrier. She said that the doctors and nurses provide a good service at the Wells Road Surgery and help support her with her health issues like

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dementia, depression and stomach problems. Her carer also helps her with her diabetes problem as she comes every morning to giving her insulin injections.  Another commentator said that she was very happy with her doctors, Fishponds Health Centre, as she feels it provides a really good service and it is fairly easy to get an appointment.  Commentator said that she is unhappy that she has to wait up to a week or two weeks to get an appointment at Charlotte Keel Health Centre and sometimes by the time the appointment arrives she could even be better. She ensures she goes to her blood test regularly to keep on track checking that her health is alright.  Commentator said that she is very happy with the service and care she receives from her doctors surgery at Charlotte Keel Health Centre. She added they even come to her home to visit her when she is really poorly and unable to come into the surgery. She informed HW that the nurses and doctors did a very good job when she was very unwell and the care they provided was of a very good standard.

Links between primary and secondary care  Commentator informed HW that she has had a stroke and that her left side does not function as it used too. She said that she has a problem with her foot and is waiting for the doctor at Montpellier Health Centre to refer her to the hospital for an appointment to get a specially fitted shoe to help her with her pain. She saw the doctor six months ago and said that she has still not heard from Southmead Hospital. She has asked the doctor again and she informed the commentator that she has made the referral and is waiting for the hospital to get back to her.  Commentator is very upset about the system at her doctors for getting a doctors appointment. She has seen her GP and has informed him about her throat problem, for which he has referred her to the hospital for an operation. It has been two years now and she has not had the operation. The commentator asked the doctor to look in to the matter further and he

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informed the commentator that she is on the waiting list. She feels that it is not a good structure as she is still awaiting a date from Southmead Hospital. Secondary care  Commentator suffers with cataracts and has been to Lynne Fernandes Opticians on Wells Road in Knowle. She was informed by them that they will contact her doctor to make a referral for her to attend the Eye Hospital to have an operation to remove the cataracts. She has already had this operation but will have to return for further treatment which worried her as she had hoped that the cataracts had been cleared.

Healthwatch will….. All the feedback provided by the group has been inputted to Healthwatch Bristol’s database of issues and concerns. It will be included in the Healthwatch Bristol Quarterly Report. Healthwatch will be sharing this report with Healthwatch partners including Bristol CCG, Bristol City Council, The Care Quality Commission, NHS England and Healthwatch England. The report will also be presented to the Healthwatch Bristol Advisory Group to propose further uptake of the issues identified in this report. The report will be available on the Healthwatch Bristol website (www.healthwatchbristol.co.uk) and circulated to our mailing lists via the monthly e-bulletin.

Looking forward…. Plans for future work between Healthwatch Bristol and the Dhek Bhal to organise a focus group discussing gender specific issues and preferences. Healthwatch welcomes and encourages members of the Dhek Bhal group to continue to contribute their feedback to us using the communication methods included at the end of this report. Healthwatch also supports members of community groups to become Volunteer Champions so that they can represent the experiences and needs of their

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community group. If you would like to find out more about volunteering with Healthwatch, please contact us using the details below.

Tell Us Your Story… Healthwatch Bristol want to hear from you about your experiences so that we can tell services your needs to create the best local services. Text us - text bris followed by your message to 07860 021 603 Email us at [email protected] Call us: 0117 2690400 Write to us at: Healthwatch Bristol, The Care Forum, The Vassall Centre, Gill Ave, Fishponds, Bristol, BS16 2QQ Or visit our website to see more at: www.healthwatchbristol.co.uk

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