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Improving Outcomes Through Collaboration

An interactive conference looking at improving the journey and outcomes for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, where we will explore safeguarding, mental health and the legal dynamics, and hear the child’s voice throughout.

Download the agenda here:
UASC-Health-IOTC-Agenda-Leeds.pdf

Speakers

  • Introduction from Lord Dubs
  • Nancy Sayer & Georgie Siggers, Looked After Children [Kent]
  • Stewart MacLachlan, Coram Legal Centre
  • Rupinder Parhar, The Children’s Society in London
  • Mark Pearson & James Hensman, Excelsior Safeguarding
  • Charlotte Levine, Young Minds
  • Ana Draper, Kent UASC Mental Health Action Research Project

Dates and venues

Northampton

Leeds

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Challenges in Primary Care

shutterstock_386979349COMMUNICATION – CULTURAL DIFFERENCES

We had many problems relating to not speaking the same language. It was difficult to get access to appropriate interpreters, especially when there was an urgent medical need. Translation is sometimes difficult. There isn’t always a literal translation from English to the child’s native tongue, needing to re-work what we said, and simplify explanations.

We also encountered Religious issues, there was a need for appropriate places for worship. We always had to have respect for their needs related to food and religious festivals.
TRUST

A lot of the children/young people were frightened, hyper-vigilant and suspicious.  Many had been failed or let down by supposed people in authority or ‘professionals’. It took time to build up a rapport and get a complete story. Their trust had to be earned. Sometimes it took more than one or two consultations to be given all of the facts.


CONFIDENTIALITY

The legal aspects of what to share, when, to whom and why. We were often asked by various agencies for information with no signed consent by YP to release it. It’s not an aspect they are familiar with, being asked for their consent – we needed to explain the pros and cons, not to make them feel pressured no matter who is asking.


IDENTIFICATION

Many of the children / young people have very similar names and the same or very similar dates of birth, such as Mohammed, Mohamed, Muhammed, Muhamed.

Documentation must be 100% accurate between staff and agencies, using  a 3rd identifier at least if possible. Name to be full, in the correct order, such as Mohammed Ali or Ali Mohammed a DOB and NHS number as a minimum.  We also got photographic ID for every child. It is important to double check everything to reduce the risk of errors.


SAFETY

We needed to be ensure the health and safety of the children, staff, us, and other residents. There were unknown communicable diseases such as Hepatitis B.
Any challenging behaviours would be dealt with effectively and preventative actions taken.
Protection must be taken including wearing gloves with body fluid spillages. Risk assessments were also completed                                                                                                                                   
EXPECTATIONS

What the child or young person expects, has been told or led to believe the experience in the UK will be. The reality can be very different leading to frustration and anger.


CONTINUITY

When moving from our unit the continuity of care is important, communication between agencies to ensure hospital follow ups, medications and investigations, linking all the correspondence form different departments and agencies to the child’s new place of residence.


ATTITUDES

Attitudes were a big consideration both from the UASC’s and from the staff working with them. The Young people needed to be taught about British Culture, respecting women, and appropriate behaviour towards women and other people.

The staff attitudes were sometimes that of Indifference, lack of understanding, and a lack of sensitivity. Which also needed to be changed just as much as the young people.

by Jacqueline Nudd

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A Practice Nurse’s story

PersonMy name is Jacqueline Nudd. I am a State registered, Sick Children’s and District Nurse. I have worked in Neo-natal intensive Care, Accident and Emergency, School Nursing, Sexual medicine, acute surgical wards and for the past 26 years the only Practice Nurse in a rural 3,500 patient practice also covering two private schools. I specialise in Asthma along with dealing with Travel Health/medicine, child immunisations, chronic disease management, wound care and all other practice nurse tasks. I can safely say I don’t think there is any part of the skills and knowledge I have obtained over my nursing career that hasn’t been tested in this role. It is truly unique.

MY EXPERTISE INVOLVING UASC

Firstly we needed to ensure all of the children in the unit are registered with the GP to get an NHS number and access health care to which they are all fully entitled.

I set up and ran clinics with a GP at the centre, co-ordinating with support workers and appropriate interpreters for each child. We would deal with common conditions seen in the children/young people such as; scabies,  athlete’s foot but also needed to have a heightened sense of awareness of signs and symptoms of conditions not normally seen in UK children, such as Malaria.

I was involved in advising on Issues regarding; control of infection, clinical waste and the use of agencies such as PHE.

Important discussions were had with all staff, both at the unit and within the practice, regarding information sharing, confidentiality, consent & the law, dealing with communication difficulties when no interpreters were available.

Immunisation was a big part of my role, and a big question was “how do we obtain ‘informed consent’?” A consent form was devised to be used specifically for these children. This was created using ‘The Green Book’ and The ‘Guidelines for those of unknown immunisation status’

Another issue we had to deal with was age disputes – there are a lot of documents and papers on age assessment, this is particularly relevant with UASC’s, and a great deal of caution is needed. This area caused us a lot of problems especially with care when the appearance of a child seemed much older than their documented date of birth.

I was responsible for the Education of staff, children and interpreters about the importance of attending appointments, there was a high DNA rate, the implications and impact on the health of the child and the cost to the NHS in wasted appointments and sorting out further follow up appointments.

When completing new patient health checks it was important to be aware of additional screening where appropriate. Questions such as;

  • Do they look well, thin, pale, anxious, agitated?
  • Look at body language, do they make eye contact,
  • Are there appropriate interactions between us and staff?
  • Ask if they want help with anything?

Be aware of ‘hidden’ conditions, because of cultural beliefs or shame, they may be afraid and give an atypical history or ‘hide’ symptoms and be not sure who to tell what to.
It was like doing a jigsaw to get a complete picture.

My work also involved dealing with their day to day health needs of the young person. We had to explain to UASC’s what is ‘normal’ in this country, advising that ‘everyone here has these injections’, ‘it is normal to do these tests with these symptoms’, and we had to help them to understand ‘why’’

In primary care with dispersal there may be only a scattering of UASC’s in many practices. Some of the facilities and support we had will not be available, but each one of these children will potentially have a number of unique needs and risk factors not common in primary care normally that may need addressing. They may feel isolated within the community, different language and culture, not have contact with familiar friends or family. The media and some people’s attitudes may make them feel frightened, threatened and intimidated.

In primary care we can make a difference a smile may open a door to communication to help them share a health concern or need. Take time – I know it’s difficult, and the pressure we are under in primary care – make their appointments at a time when the surgery is quieter. Use all the resources now available to help you and them do the best you can.

The role is constantly evolving around what has been learnt, about the children’s ‘journey’ and the experience gained in caring for UASC’s.  Models of appropriate care and support are being made, not only for them but also for anyone involved in their care. Only in the long term will we see how successful we have been in managing the health and well-being of these children as they integrate into society, grow up and nurture their own children in the future.

This is a human being just like us, who deserves a chance to be healthy, and fulfil their dreams and aspirations, despite a start in life neither you, or I could imagine.

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Report: An Emotional Health and Wellbeing Specialist Early Intervention Framework

By Dr. Ana Draper

In July 2016, A Parliamentary Select Committee report entitled Children in Crisis: Unaccompanied Migrant Children in the EU makes the statement: ‘All we can know for certainty is that the number of unaccompanied children in the EU runs to many tens of thousands and has grown significantly in recent years’. From this uncertainty a very specific figure of 3,043 asylum applications from unaccompanied minors were made in the UK, an increase of 56% from 2014. Most of these children have arrived in Kent and passed through reception centres in the county before being rapidly dispersed either into foster care or supported living arrangements. It is from the experience of working therapeutically with these children that the recommendations in this paper are being made.

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Migration crisis inquiry

Europe, including the UK, is facing a huge challenge arising from the number of refugees and migrants reaching levels not seen since the Second World War. In addition to people fleeing war and insecurity as refugees, there are large numbers of migrants attempting to come to Europe to seek a better life for themselves and their families.

After a year-long inquiry, the Home Affairs Committee says EU action to address a crisis it should have foreseen has been “too little, too late”, with the EU-Turkey agreement a partial solution at best which raises serious humanitarian, human rights, logistical and legal concerns.

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Children in crisis: unaccompanied migrant children in the EU

The current refugee crisis is the greatest humanitarian challenge to have faced the European Union since its foundation.  

Although the outcome of the referendum on 23 June 2016 was that the UK should leave the EU, the UK remains a full member of the EU, with all the responsibilities that entails, until the final withdrawal agreement is ratified. It is vital, both on moral grounds and in order to help maintain good relations with the other 27 Member States, that the UK Government should participate fully in EU action to resolve this humanitarian crisis.

Read the full report

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Unaccompanied child refugees to be dispersed across UK

A national dispersal scheme for unaccompanied child asylum seekers in Britain is to get under way in July as Home Office ministers prepare to announce a new scheme to take Syrian child refugees directly from camps in the Middle East.

The number of unaccompanied child refugees in Britain has reached 4,029, with many concentrated in Kent and Croydon, where they first made their claims for asylum on arrival in Britain.

The immigration minister, James Brokenshire, told MPs it was clear that a national response was needed to help councils such as Kent and Croydon “promote a fair and equitable distribution of cases across the country in a way that protects the best interests of those children”.

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Unaccompanied asylum-seeking children to be resettled from Europe

Unaccompanied asylum-seeking children will be resettled from Greece, Italy and France, in an initiative announced today following discussions between the government and Save the Children.

This initiative builds on last month’s announcement that up to 3,000 vulnerable children and family members will be resettled direct from the Middle East and North Africa.

And it adds to the resettlement of 20,000 people direct from Syrian refugee communities, which has been under way since last year.

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