Welsh Language NHS Wales Contact Points Meeting

21.02.08 Broneirion, Llandinam

In attendance

Kathy Bennet / Cardiff LHB
Maria Blagojevic / Conwy LHB
Maldwyn Davies / North East Wales NHS Trust
Rhiannon Davies / Gwent Healthcare NHS Trust
Delyth Evans / Ceredigion LHB
Eleri Hughes / North West Wales NHS Trust
Alaw Jones / Conwy and Denbighshire NHS Trust
Bethan Jones / Ceredigion NHS Trust
Sharon Jones / North Wales LHBs
Glenys Leach / North East Wales NHS Trust
Ann Morgan / Cardiff & Vale NHS Trust
Kate Morgan / Swansea NHS Trust
Steve Parry / Torfaen LHB
Trystan Pritchard / North West Wales NHS Trust
Sue Stavrides / Powys LHB
Fiona Irvine / LLAIS, Bangor University
Gwerfyl Roberts / LLAIS, Bangor University
Llinos Spencer / LLAIS, Bangor University
Richard Timothy / NHS Welsh Language Unit, Welsh Assembly Government
Elin Rowlands / NHS Welsh Language Unit, Welsh Assembly Government
Non Evans / NHS Welsh Language Unit, Welsh Assembly Government

Apologies

Richard Bevan / Blaenau Gwent LHB
Sharon Caple / Caerphilly LHB
Tony Couch / Velindre NHS Trust
Linda Gibbs / Cardiff & Vale NHS Trust
Joanne Harris / Monmouthshire LHB
Janet Kelland / Rhondda Cynon Taf LHB
Wendy Penrhyn-Jones / Bro Morgannwg NHS Trust
Jill Lord / Wrexham LHB
Janice Roberts / Gwynedd LHB
John Williams / Conwy LHB

1.  Welcome and Introductions

·  A new member of the NHS Welsh Language Contact Points Group was welcomed – Eleri Hughes who’s just joined North West Wales NHS Trust.

·  Ann Morgan from Cardiff and Vale NHS Trust was welcomed representing Linda Gibbs.

2.  Agree minutes of previous meeting

·  The minutes of the last meeting were agreed.

2.1  Matters arising from the minutes – NHS Jobs Website

·  Representatives from the North Wales noted their concerns about the low numbers of people applying for jobs through the medium of Welsh.

·  Some members had tried to search for jobs in Welsh yet there is no means of searching through the medium of Welsh and there are some discrepancies between which pages are available in Welsh.

·  It would be useful for the group to know how many people apply in Welsh and how many ‘hits’ the Welsh website gets.

·  Action – WL Unit to get the website’s viewing figures.

3.  The Taskgroup

·  The taskgroup for the Welsh language in health and social services has been re-established and is chaired by the Deputy Minister. They will meet for the second time on the 28th February.

·  A 3-year Work Plan will be drawn up by April and it will be the structure to the work of the networks.

·  Contact Points are welcomed to voice their own opinions to the Taskgroup via the Welsh Unit or the two Contact Points representatives – Sharon and Rhiannon.

4.  Patient Information Leaflets

·  Trystan gave the group an update on the work the Welsh Risk Pool is doing with regards to information leaflets.

·  They have bought the rights to 260 leaflets about medical treatment from the company “Ido” and they will be translated so every leaflet will be one bilingual version.

·  50 leaflets at least will be ready within the next few months and they will keep working on the rest.

·  It was asked if it would be possible to do the same with leaflets used by GPs from the “Eamis” company. Gwynedd LHB have translated some but many more are needed.

5.  Welsh Language in Healthcare Awards and Conference

·  The Contact Points were reminded to send in their nominations as only a small number have reached the Unit as of yet.

·  Many of the Contact Points thought the criteria was hard to fulfil this year.

·  It was noted that there is a need for a more general category, as many of the projects do not belong to any category, as organisations do not develop projects to win awards. Therefore even though work is being done, they cannot nominate for an award.

·  Many felt that it’s very difficult to think of new ideas and that there is a need for something new and fresh to help them.

·  Some members noted that they had tried to push the awards yet failed once again to persuade anyone to apply.

·  It was suggested that it would be a good idea fo “Ido” to display their bilingual leaflets at the Conference.

·  Action – Contact Points to send any nominations from their organisation to the Welsh Language Unit.

·  Action – WLUnit to review the categories for next year and discuss ways to help Contact Points encourage nomination.

6.  Review of the Awards

·  Some feedback was given about the work the Company Arad is doing in reviewing the Awards – they are researching how effective the Awards are in developing bilingual services, through either promoting or financing projects.

·  They will also be preparing a document on Good Practice on some of the best and most sustainable projects.

·  It was noted that some group members were concerned about the cost of the project and that other ways of spending the money to develop the service should be considered.

·  Action – The WL Unit to distribute the report once finished in about a month; and publishing the good practice document for the Conference.

7.  Welsh Health Circular Targets

·  Many of the members noted they were unhappy with the lack of guidance and support that came with the Circular and that they are concerned that the job hasn’t been job matched to “Agenda for Change” which would mean incolsistencies across the Trusts and LHBs.

·  Richard apologised for this and for any problems it may have caused Contact Points.

·  Many felt that the Welsh Language Officer job should be a managerial one in order for them to have enough influence in the organisation to move the work forward.

·  There was also concern about the Trusts including translation work in the Welsh Language Officer’s job description, as they would be drawn into translation work rather than developing work.

·  It was also noted that the amount of translating would increase by having a Welsh Language Officer, as would the profile of working bilingually.

·  LHBs and Trusts should be made aware that translating is a professional skill and certain qualifications are required for the job.

·  The Welsh Language Unit revealed that they are investigating the possibility of getting consistency across Wales for all the new Welsh Language Officer posts.

·  Action – WL Unit to look into the possibility of getting consistency across the Trusts and LHBs

8.  LLAIS Workshop

·  The LLAIS team from Bangor University held a workshop to reach a consensus in identifying the research priorities of the Welsh language in health and social Care.

·  LLAIS’ summary of the discussion can be seen in Annex 2.

·  The five top research priorities were identified as follows:

1.  Welsh language attitudes of healthcare staff

2. Demand for Welsh language service provision

=3. Welsh language learning amongst healthcare staff

=3. Impact of bilingual service provision on healthcare

5. Facilitating uptake of bilingual services amongst healthcare service users.

9.  Any other business

·  Everyone thanked Richard Timothy for all his work as Head of the NHS Welsh Language Unit and as chair of the Contact Points group and wished him all the best in his new job with the Welsh Ambulance Trust.

·  Richard thanked the Contact Points for all their work and support over the last 3 years.

10.  Next meeting

·  The next Contact Points meeting will be held on the 25th September from 11am – 2pm at Broneirian, Llandinam.