Centre of Wellbeing, Training & Culture survey results reveal impact of Covid-19 on BAME communities

A survey carried out by Rochdale's Centre of Wellbeing, Training & Culture (CWTC), based on East Street, has revealed the importance of services to be culturally and language specific.

CWTC set up the online questionnaire back in September, in collaboration with local services, both in English and in Urdu. The purpose of the survey was to seek views and understand the impact of Covid-19 on black, Asian and minority ethnic communities (BAME), in particular the South Asian community who have been diagnosed or are living with dementia, and their carers.
 

Read more: New premises for Centre of Wellbeing, Training and CulturePublished: 09 September 2020

CEO of CWTC, Mohammed Sarwar said: “During August to October, our target for response was 100 and we have received 89 responses from the BAME community, particularly the South Asian community. We also had responses from elder Asian people as well.

“The survey response has provided an insight on how Covid-19 has impacted people’s lives from questions such as are you receiving any support from regular services during the pandemic; has information been provided in the appropriate language; impact of mental health on carers; impact of social media; access to services; importance of a service to be culturally and language specific; support received by carers; access to creative activities; bilingual support offered; services providing bi­lingual and culturally sensitive support; and physical activities during lockdown.”

The survey findings will now be presented with recommendations for consideration - and to improve local methods to support the data - to NHS HMR Clinical Commissioning Group, Rochdale Borough Council, Greater Manchester Health and Social Partnerships, Alzheimer’s Society, Dementia United and various community organisations.

 

 

Mr Sarwar continued: “We had some general discussions on our new CWTC Community Podcast which highlighted the confusing information floating about and massive delays with referrals.

“The discussions also revealed that faith is a strong part of BAME people’s lives, and they have a number of social and spiritual benefits. Whilst some information has been coming through, they feel they need some personal contact either by phone or the internet to build some community resilience and prepare for future challenges with spiritual or community leaders.

“I would like to thank all participants and hope that this report will support services and commissioners to consider in their action plans and address some of the challenges faced by BAME communities. It’s vital that we utilise the resources, experiences and engagement within the voluntary sector to support our service users, the council and the NHS.

“We are grateful for project funding from the 'Department of Health and Social Care Covid-19, De­mentia and people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities fund' managed by the Race Equality Founda­tion and Community Fund for their project support.”

Councillor Faisal Rana, whose mother was living with dementia, said: “This survey report by CWTC is an excellent effort and step forward to find out how we can improve the health inequalities faced by the BAME community, in particular the South Asian community.

“I am aware about the language, access and cultural difficulties faced by many South Asian people. CWTC is a small but a strategic organisation in the borough whose commitment and its role over the years is helping to build community resilience and supporting our local services.”