How a link nurse ensured equal treatment for people of Asian origin with dementia

A review of services for older people with dementia from black and minority ethnic (BME) communities in Wolverhampton found that these groups were under represented in mental health services. Problems included a lack of information about and awareness of services, confusion about the mental health condition and a reluctance to ask for help. The review also highlighted that the proportion of older people with dementia from BME groups is set to increase significantly. It made several wide ranging recommendations to improve access to and uptake of services for these groups, which led to the creation of an Asian link nurse role specifically for Punjabi speaking people of Asian origin. This practitioner is a qualified community psychiatric nurse, who speaks Punjabi, related languages and English, and understands the relevant cultural issues. This model has been used elsewhere and we believe it should be adopted more widely to ensure equal access to culturally appropriate services for older people from BME groups.