| Introduction |
| Social Work Departments in Scotland have made considerable efforts to ensure that elderly people from minority ethnic groups have access to their services by a range of methods, including outreach work, anti-racist training, translating information and employing bilingual workers. This research examined the views of Pakistani elderly people, community group workers and social workers, and revealed different perspectives on service needs and service provision. These often conflicting views suggest that services still fail to reach people in real need, even if they have some contact with Departments. |
| Elderly people |
| The elderly people in the study generally lived with relatives, and valued this mutual support very highly. Those who lived alone experienced extreme isolation. Many respondents suffered ill-health, but revealed considerable personal resources in dealing with it. The response to community based groups was mixed, but the contact with others and opportunities to get out of the house which they were offered were highly valued. People had very little knowledge of the Social Work Department, including those who had been clients. Among those who had used the Department's services, some were appreciative, but others had had bad experiences. |
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| Community group workers spoke about how much satisfaction they got from their work, but also about the frustration they felt due to difficulties of persuading people to use the groups, and to the lack of support they felt the Social Work Department offered. They also spoke about the ideal of family support, but felt that elderly Pakistani people had clear needs for social services. They argued that service provision had to take account of cultural preferences, that the Social Work Department should employ more Asian staff, and that Pakistani people needed more knowledge of the system and its provision. The community group workers suggested that the relationship between the groups and the Department needed improvement, and especially that their own role should be more valued. |
| Social Work Department staff |
| The Social Work Department staff in the sample varied in their views about whether work with Pakistani elderly people differed from work with other elderly people, There was much nervousness about doing such work among the white workers, but the Pakistani workers were more enthusiastic. The white staff had little detailed knowledge of the service needs of Pakistani elderly people, and recognised this as a difficulty. They also felt that the Department's attempts to publicise its services had been unsuccessful in increasing service uptake. They were concerned that they were not seeing Pakistani elderly people as clients, and felt that referrals from the community groups were not operating. The staff wanted more knowledge and training to help them work with Pakistani elderly people. |
| Implications: Use and knowledge of services |
| Lack of uptake of services did not indicate lack of need. Pakistani elderly people in Glasgow needed more information about services, which needed to be appropriately delivered. There was potential for greater use of the community groups, and particular need for support for carers. |
| The problem of lack of knowledge of services required to be tackled in a more positive way. For instance, further consideration could be given to the importance of word of mouth for spreading information in the Pakistani community. |
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| The community groups fulfilled a very important role, and should have been a major resource in the development and delivery of appropriate and effective services. But there seemed to be problems with the referral system, with the relationship with the Department, and with the concentration on these groups as the main source of service for Pakistani elderly people. |
| Ethnically sensitive services |
| The anti-racist approach of social work departments was important, but needed to be complemented by the development of ethnically sensitive practice. Staff required further training and support to facilitate their work with Pakistani elderly people. |
| Training issues |
| Employment and training issues arose for both community group workers and Social Work Department staff. For Department staff, training issues were linked to the development of ethnically sensitive practice. For community group workers there was a need for their work to be more valued, and for professional development to be available. |
| Conclusion |
| The system of referrals between the community groups and the Department appeared not to be operating effectively. This problem was linked with lack of knowledge, the position of the community groups, the need for more ethnically sensitive practice and employment and training issues. The report argues that improvement in all these areas is needed to help improve service access. |
| The study was carried out by the Department of Applied Social Science at the University of Stirling. |
| It was funded by the Social Work Services Group of The Scottish Office. |
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| Alison Bowes and Naira Dar |
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| "Pathways to Welfare for Pakistani Elderly People in Glasgow", the research report summarised in this Research Findings, may be purchased (price £5 per copy) |
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