(From our annual report 2006.)
"CNWL's objective is to deliver high quality services
that are accessible, responsive and appropriate to meet
the diverse needs of different groups and individuals."
Central and North West London Mental Health NHS Trust
(CNWL) provides mental health and substance misuse services
for an area with one of the most ethnically diverse populations
in the world.
"Just 46.8% of local residents describe themselves
as White British," says CNWL. "The areas to
which the Trust provides mental health services have
an even lower percentage of White British residents.
In Brent, fewer than one in three residents are White
British. Refugees and asylum-seekers are estimated to
make up one in twelve of the population of the four boroughs
we serve."
CNWL's Race Equality Scheme 2003/06, which was approved
at a meeting of the Trust Board in June 2003, set out
nine corporate priorities for action over a three-year
period: the first of these was language services.
"A small but significant proportion of the people
who live in the areas served by the Trust speak little
or even no English," CNWL reports. "A higher
proportion might well feel more comfortable and better
able to express themselves in a first language which
is not English. The quality of the interpreting services
contracted in by the Trust is therefore of great importance
to ensure that these residents have equal access to the
Trust's services."
In January 2006, following a re-tendering exercise
that involved clinical and administrative staff from
across the Trust, CNWL appointed EITI as its official
supplier of interpreting services. EITI has set up a
dedicated freephone hotline for the Trust's 2,900 employees,
as well as an online booking form, which can be accessed
through CNWL's intranet.
Dawn Bowes, EITI's operations manger, has been briefing
teams about the new services at sites across central
and north-west London.
"CNWL staff have two key requirements," says
Dawn. "First of all, they need support from professional,
experienced and qualified interpreters. Secondly, they
need to be able get this support without wasting time
on paperwork, phone calls or procedures.
"This all means that our online booking form has
become an important resource for all members of staff.
The form is easily available through CNWL's intranet,
it takes a few seconds to fill in, and it links directly
to the computer network at our operations centre in Howden.
It can be used for any booking, including same-day requests
and emergencies, and it covers more than 170 languages."
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