Monday 16^th November 2009

The HSE  officially  launched the Health Services Intercultural Guide today (Monday 16^th November 2009) which was developed under the HSE National Intercultural Health Strategy 2007 – 2012 in response to the needs of diverse religious communities and cultures in healthcare settings. 

Representatives of different religious and cultural groups who also contributed to the strategy, attended the launch of the publication of the Guide which was researched and written by Bridget McGuane, a HSE senior HR Officer.  The publication explains best practice in person-centred intercultural care and  offers guidance to health service providers on working with people from diverse religions and cultures such as Baptists, Christians, Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism, Roma, Irish Traveller communities, to name but a few.

The Guide provides important information on the approach to intercultural healthcare and profiles the needs of twenty-five diverse groups who are cared for in our healthcare settings. It is a resource and practical tool for staff from all backgrounds and includes communities with a longer history in Ireland as well as newer communities.

It is primarily targeted at in-patient settings including acute, paediatric, maternity, hospices, residential/community units, etc. and will be of interest to a range of staff including chaplains, mortuary staff, nurses/midwives and health care assistants.  It  builds on previous work conducted in healthcare settings but is distinguished by its approach  whereby the primary source of information was a comprehensive research and consultation process with contributors from the groups profiled in the document.  It is being distributed to a wide range of healthcare services and agencies, e.g. hospitals, hospices, residential services, older people and community services, academic institutions, and the NGO sector. 

The publication of the Health Services Intercultural Guide is one of the initiatives being devised and implemented by the HSE as part of the National Health Strategy 2007-2012.  Earlier this year the HSE successfully launched the Emergency Multi Lingual Aid Box (EMA) to all 52 acute hospitals throughout the country, which assists frontline staff in communicating with patients with limited English proficiency who attend hospitals in acute or emergency situations.  Such has been the success of the EMA that the HSE is looking at adapting the resource for use in community healthcare settings such as Primary Care etc.

Speaking at the launch of the publication, Alice O’Flynn, Assistant National Director, Social Inclusion, HSE said “This Guide is a practical tool for healthcare staff delivering services to the

diversity of population that is the Ireland of 2009 and we value enormously the participation and consultation with the religious and cultural leaders that enabled this publication”

Ireland’s demographic changes are important for the HSE both in its delivery of health services and also in its role as a major employer of health and allied care staff.  TheCensus 2006 indicated significant demographic changes in Ireland with approximately 10 per cent of the Irish population now originating from other countries and people migrating to Ireland from 188 different countries.  Ireland is a multi cultural country and so we must ensure that our services can respond to the needs of the diversity of the population. 

For further information on the Health Services Intercultural Guide contact socialinclusion.guide@hse.ie or download a copy here.

ENDS