The Syrian Vulnerable Person Resettlement Programme: evaluation of Edinburgh's reception arrangements

During 2015 and 2016 a group of Syrian refugees were resettled in Edinburgh, Scotland under the United Kingdom Government Syrian Vulnerable Person Resettlement Programme. We evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the settling in arrangements for these refugees.

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with five Arabic interpreters who had worked extensively with these refugees. Interviews sought their impressions about what went well or was not successful. Interviews were transcribed and key themes extracted and analysed.

Six themes emerged: 'first impressions', language skills, different healthcare systems, health of the refugees, relationships between the interpreters and refugees and support for the interpreters.

The welcoming arrangements went well and exceeded refugees' and interpreters' expectations. There was perhaps too much information given immediately and reinforcing details about various public services and facilities after a first few months would be worthwhile. The Syrians were unfamiliar with NHS structures and found lack of direct specialist access surprising. Problems were amplified by low English levels. A need for Arabic literacy classes was also identified. Interpreters were often used informally out-of-hours and a better system with first contact in Arabic should be established. Interpreters find this work particularly stressful and the provision of psychological support for them should be prioritized.