Welcome to the Diverse Cymru
BME Mental Health Workplace Good Practice
THE SCHEME
In October 2016 the Health Minister launched at the Diverse Cymru offices a Cultural Competency toolkit written specifically for mental health organisations and practitioners in Wales.
Making this statement about the Toolkit
Vaughan Gething, Cabinet Secretary for Health, Well-being and Sport
“I welcome the development of the Cultural Competency Toolkit which will help professionals and services deliver more appropriate care and support.
Such projects will help us achieve a number of the goals included in our ten-year strategy Together for Mental Health"
Having launched the Toolkit, aimed specifically at improving and equipping the mental health and social care sector
to better support disadvantaged communities, at Diverse Cymru we recognised that this would not be enough
to make the much needed practical ongoing improvements to the mental health services provided and received
by the BME community in Wales.
So, by working with an established charter mark organisation (UKIED), we added to the toolkit a certification scheme, we have titled
- The Diverse Cymru BME Mental Health Workplace Good Practice Certification Scheme (WGPCS).
The scheme which is endorsed by the Royal College of Psychiatrists,
focuses on improving workplace practice to help ensure that the barriers specific to BME people are
taken into account in the delivery of mental health services to them, and it is hoped that the Toolkit
and this evidence based certification scheme will provide organisations and practitioners with relevant support,
techniques and interventions to be able to deliver an effective culturally competent, patient centered service
We are grateful for the Welsh Government’s support for this initiative through its Section 64 grant for third sector organisations operating
on an all-Wales basis in the mental health sector. And we appreciate the Welsh Governments dedication and committment to launching
this new innovative certification scheme, the first of its kind in the UK.
THE NEED, PURPOSE AND AIMS OF THE SCHEME
The need for this scheme stems from the recognised and acknowledged inequality in the services provided
to BME people accessing mental health services as compared to non BME service users. Research over many years has
identified that a major cause of this inequality relates to the lack of culturally sensitive and as a consequence culturally
competent mental health services for the BME community.
The main purpose of the scheme is the development of responsive, appropriate, proactive and culturally sensitive mental health
services that makes a practical, ongoing and positive difference to BME community in Wales.
The main aim of the scheme is that of making the BME community in Wales more confident and comfortable when accessing
mental health services, and for health care practitioners and professionals in Wales to be more sensitive and knowledgeable
regarding the issues that the BME community may face in obtaining appropriate mental health services and support.
Research and practice has shown that culturally competent health services produce significant Social,
Health and Business benefits, for the provider, the patients and the community as a whole
Benefits such as improved health outcomes, increased respect and mutual understanding, which in most cases
lead to increased participation from the local community, lower costs and fewer care disparities.
The main stakeholders are professionals and practitioners who work with diverse mental health communities,
in the voluntary, public or private sectors. Specifically as a starting point, the scheme is aimed at mental
health & social care organisations, and the Local Health Boards in Wales, through their senior management,
equality, and mental health leads.
Importantly, the key stakeholder will be the BME community in Wales who we will be working closely with,
to ensure that the scheme has their approval and confidence.
We recognise that all mental health service providers are experiencing significant challenges in meeting the needs
of their service users, often due to operating within tight financial constraints. The challenge facing mental health service
providers has been further exasperated by the sharp and ever-increasing demand for their services.
The scheme takes specific note of these constraints, and has been designed to be both cost and resource efficient and effective.
Additionally by encouraging organisations to build cultural considerations much earlier and more effectively within the service user
relationship cycle and within their own business as usual processes, there is clear evidence that this will mean more effective and inclusive service
user engagement and better service user experience, leading to better outcomes and increased efficiency savings.
THE OUTPUTS/SUCCESS MEASURES
Success and success measures come in a variety of forms; however, the principal success measure will see BME people receiving more timely,
appropriate and effective mental health services that lead to better outcomes. For example :-
Mental Health Service Providers
- Improved levels of trust and engagement from BME service user and wider community
- Development of more tailored services and approaches
- Increased efficiency
- Reduction of discrimination based complaints
- Improved employee engagement
Service User
- Improved confidence to engage with service provider
- Improved engagement with service providers
- Improved sense of agency regarding the service they receive
- Experience more culturally sensitive appropriate services and approaches
- Reduction of anxiety
THE CERTIFICATION METHODOLOGY, PROCESS AND EVIDENCE
The Certification Methodology
The scheme will use an evidence based supportive certification approach, meaning that Diverse Cymru will work with participants
to ensure they fully understand what evidence will be required to successfully achieve their target certification level.
The scheme will also focus on supporting organisations to meet and respond to the needs of BME Mental Health service users
in a sustainable and cost-efficient way.
The Certification Process:
The process has four simple stages :-
- Stage 1. Registration and Payment
- Stage 2. Self-Assessment Analysis
- Stage 3. Assessment and Certification
- Stage 4. Monitoring, Revalidation and Reassessment
Assessment and Certification Levels
Participants will be able to benchmark themselves at four different levels:
- Foundation
- Developing
- Competence
- Excellence
Indicative Evidence Levels
A standardised evidence template covering five assessment areas will be used to determine the participants certification level.
Please note that for this project the terms - Black Minority Ethnic (BME) or Black, Asian Minority Ethnic (BAME),
are used to refer to non-white members of the community in the UK, for the purpose of the certification process,
Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) includes, Roma, Irish, Polish, Travellers and Eastern Europeans for example