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Services for Asylum Seekers and Refugees (Adults Services)

Reference: 24-25338

Date response sent: 19/11/2024

Details of enquiry

  1. What outreach support service offers do you have for asylum seekers and refugees in initial accommodation hotels and community-based houses across the region?
    1. How does the model interface with other providers to deliver the service.
  2. What group support programmes do you have for asylum seekers and refugees?
  3. What trauma-based therapy do you provide for asylum seekers and refugees?
    1. If yes how is this commissioned and funded?
    2. Does the service operate in isolation or as part of a pathway with other services?
  4. What community mental health wellbeing and support resources do you offer to asylum seekers and refugees?
  5. What provision do talking therapies have to respond to requests for support regarding trauma from asylum Seekers and refugees?
  6. What training do staff receive in supporting asylum seekers and refugees?
  7. What provision is available to access interpreting services and how is this funded?
  8. What joint commissioning arrangements do you have with the local authority for supporting asylum seekers and refugees?

Response sent

  1. What outreach support service offers do you have for asylum seekers and refugees in initial accommodation hotels and community-based houses across the region?

The Trust does not differentiate on patient accommodation details, and only records this as either secure or temporary status. Any further details would require a manual interrogation of the patient’s clinical notes.

In some services we focus on the patient’s needs rather than their status as refugees or asylum seekers, so we cannot fully report on this

  1. How does the model interface with other providers to deliver the service.

There is no set model as interface is clinically led, informed by the individual patient’s need.  Interface with such agencies would be predicated by patient consent and/or clinical risk posed to ensure patient safety.

  1. What group support programmes do you have for asylum seekers and refugees?

The Trust sees a significant number of traumatised asylum seekers and refugees within the trauma service. Details of this service are available here: https://tavistockandportman.nhs.uk/services/trauma-service/ This is not specifically a service for Asylum Seekers/ Refugees but we have considerable experience over many years of working with this patient group, including with interpreters.

For 10 years we have had a partnership with the British Red Cross seeing Asylum Seekers on site in their service to help improve access issues.

Our staff receive ongoing Continuous Personal Development Training (CPD) in working with complex trauma, which includes work with this particular group of patients.

  1. What trauma-based therapy do you provide for asylum seekers and refugees?

The Trust does not provide a dedicated Trauma Service for Asylum Seekers and Refugees, and, if/where relevant and appropriate, they would attend the Trust’s mainstream trauma services, as shown on our website: Trauma service – Tavistock and Portman.

  1. If yes how is this commissioned and funded?

The Trust is not commissioned to provide a discreet Trauma service to asylum seekers and refugees.

  1. Does the service operate in isolation or as part of a pathway with other services?

The trauma service has excellent external links to other statutory and voluntary services in North Central London, Greater London, and nationally.

We offer courses and an external lecture series and have a co-production panel / forum so that experts by experience can influence and contribute to service development.

We are contributing members of the Trauma Informed Informed (multi-agency) network in Camden and Islington and also chair the local Reach Out Alliance in Camden . This is a collation of voluntary providers all with programmes of care and social offers

  1. What community mental health wellbeing and support resources do you offer to asylum seekers and refugees?

See our responses above to Q1 and Q2

  1. What provision do talking therapies have to respond to requests for support regarding trauma from asylum Seekers and refugees?

Access to Trauma Services – part of our mainstream offer in the Trauma Pathways

  1. What training do staff receive in supporting asylum seekers and refugees?

Staff have trauma training, EMDR, T-CBT training, Narrative Exposure Therapy, Tree of Life, attend conferences on how to support asylum seekers and link with other third sector organisations.  We also attend a monthly hub where professionals can come together to discuss issues relating to refugees.

We have a refugee forum that invites participation from across the Trust and focusses on different aspects of experience with presentations, discussion and information sharing.

  1. What provision is available to access interpreting services and how is this funded?

The Trust subcontracts all interpreting and related services to a third party supplier. All patients are eligible to access interpreting, based on need

  1. What joint commissioning arrangements do you have with the local authority for supporting asylum seekers and refugees?
  2. What outreach support service offers do you have for asylum seekers and refugees in initial accommodation hotels and community-based houses across the region?

We do not have joint commissioning arrangements, as we are a provider not a commissioner.  We do however engage with and liaise with local authorities, where indicated, to ensure holistic delivery of care for the individual accessing the treatment.

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