The Health Minister has launched a report highlighting the
difficulties that some women and children in the immigration
system may face when accessing Health and Social Care services.
The report was commissioned by the Department of Health in 2024
to examine the experiences of women and children who arrived in
Northern Ireland seeking international protection.
It explores the potential barriers that women and children in the
People Seeking International Protection (PSIP) pathways may face
when accessing services and makes a series of recommendations to
help address them.
Health Minister , who launched the report at an
event in Parliament Buildings, said: “Health and Social
Care plays a critical role in supporting safe immigration and
integration journeys.
“What many may consider to be the most straightforward of
processes can be an overwhelming experience for someone who has
just arrived in Northern Ireland.
“This report is a much-welcomed addition to the
conversation on how we can collectively support integration in
Northern Ireland. It will provide a significant evidence base as
we move forward to commission support services and tackle health
inequalities for those who have chosen to make Northern Ireland
their home.”
In total, 167 women from 15 nationalities, including Syrian,
Ukrainian, Sudanese, Afghan, and Iraqi communities, engaged with
this work and had an opportunity to share their experiences of
accessing Health and Social Care services, specifically Maternity
Services, Public Health Nursing, Social Services and Mental
Health Services, either for themselves or on behalf of children.
A total of 19 engagement sessions took place across Northern
Ireland.
The report includes a number of recommendations centring on
addressing three key issues - cultural, language and navigation.
These are:
- Carry out an audit of best practice across Trust areas;
- Establish a standardised approach to support services,
ensuring equitable access across different regions;
- Promote best practices in interpreting services and
translations;
- Embed the Cultural Competence Framework across Health &
Social Care;
- Create, or optimise and strengthen, the existing central
resource to support people seeking international protection in
navigating health and social care services;
- Commission education programmes to build awareness of health
conditions and preventative care, to be delivered within local
community settings.
The Minister added: “The experiences of a marginalised
group of people, whom some would refer to as hard to reach, have
been systematically recorded in a way that allows the wider HSC
family to develop and improve their services to meet the needs of
their service users.
“My Department and the Trusts have already started to
implement the recommendations of the report. To the women who
gave their time and shared their lived experiences with us, I
want to say thank you. I want you to know that we are listening
to you, your voices are important to us and you have been
heard.”
Notes to editors:
- The Make My Voice Heard: The Experiences of Women seeking
International Protection Accessing Health & Social Care in
Northern Ireland can be read in full here: www.health-ni.gov.uk/publications/make-my-voice-heard-experiences-women-seeking-international-protection-accessing-health-social-care-northern-ireland
- This Personal and Public Involvement (PPI) project was
commissioned by the Department of Health, through the Belfast
Health and Social Care Trust, which led a regional steering group
in partnership with five HSC Trusts in Northern Ireland, with
input from the Public Health Agency (PHA) and the Office for the
Mental Health Champion Northern Ireland.
- The HSCNI Leadership Centre was engaged to undertake the
direct engagement and collation of the report and findings, to
provide a neutral approach as it is not involved in the delivery
of services to people seeking international protection and
therefore could support open discussion.
