Ethnicity and satisfaction with social care services
The NHS National Institute for Health Research have released the research findings of Dr Ros Willis and her team on levels of satisfaction with social care services among South Asian and White British Groups.
People from Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) groups have generally reported lower levels of satisfaction with social care services when compared with white people. An SSCR-commissioned study explored satisfaction with people from South Asian groups and interviewed a White British comparison group to see how similar or different their experiences were.
The research team found that people from minority ethnic groups have had difficulty finding out about services due to language barriers and cultural differences, and many people struggled to find out how to access social care services in the first place. There were both differences (e.g. language issues) and similarities (e.g. the importance of care staff having a kind manner) between South Asian and White British service users and family carers. More White British than South Asian people had a good understanding of the social care system: people with a good understanding of the social care system were more in control of their care; people with a poor understanding were uncertain about how to access further care, or why a service had been refused or withdrawn.
Main recommendations from the study include: thorough assessments, language needs being met, accessible named social care staff and better communication to service users and family carers throughout the whole social care process.