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Translating Innovation into Practice

• Gypsy Traveller Health Project in Angus

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Workshop Outline

• Introduction
• Quiz
• Project presentation
• Recommendations

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• To improve access to
• healthcare services for Gypsy
• Travellers in Angus

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What is meant by the term Gypsy Traveller?

• Those groups of Travellers in Scotland who
  variously refer to themselves as Travellers,
  Scottish Travellers, Scottish Gypsy Travellers or
  Gypsy Traveller people. This includes English
  Gypsies, Irish Travellers European Roma.
• Scottish Gypsy /Traveller Strategy CRE Scotland
  2006

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Quiz

• To set the context
• To dispel myths about the Gypsy Traveller
  Community
• To introduce information about Gypsy Traveller
  Health
• To introduce the legal context

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Health Status of Gypsy Travellers

• Gypsy Travellers suffer significant health
  inequalities, even when compared with other
  socially deprived or excluded groups.
• Sheffied University 2004

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Gypsy Travellers in Angus

• 2 Council run sites
• 18 families
• 20 families

• Unauthorised sites
• Road verges
• Disused land
• Houses

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Health Worker

• 2 days per week
• Visit authorised unauthorised sites
• Determine health issues
• Signpost to local services
• Gypsy Traveller multi-agency liaison group

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Issues
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Accomodation

• Lack of legitimate stopping places
• Council sites full
• Lack of housing
• Not welcome on holiday sites
• Being moved on associated stress

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Health

• Lack of knowledge about services
• Lack of information on how to contact services
• Health information can be difficult to understand

• Difficult to keep appointments
• GP far away / No GP
• Go to MIUs if feeling unwell
• Discrimination at some health centres

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Education

• Children attend primary school when settled
• Few attend secondary school
• Some areas provide an education outreach service
• Experiences of bullying discrimination

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Environment

• Access to water
• Access to toilets
• Safety of area / location of sites
• Abuse
• Rubbish
• Animal faeces

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Contact with other agencies
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Patient Record of Personal Health
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Patient Record of Personal Care
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Conclusions

• Trusting relationships take time to build
• Beginnings of addressing health issues
• To address health inequalities requires
  sustainable committment
• Importance of multi-agency working

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Recommendations

• Build on initial work and introduce preventative
  healthcare education
• Further site provision given high priority
• Multi-agency training awareness raising to
  tackle discrimination