Health Education England – Cultural Safety Position Statement

Organizational Background

Health Education England (HEE) was initially established as the Special Health Authority in the year 2012. But under the Care Act 2014 provisions, the organization became a Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB). The core aim of HEE is to provide valuable support to the delivery of exceptional healthcare and enhance the health of the patients as well as the public in the United Kingdom. The vision of the organization is providing the healthcare workforce with the right values and skills at the right time and right place in order to meet the needs of the patients at present as well as in the future (Health Education England, 2019). 

Health Education England is committed to providing the best possible outcomes and experiences for all the services users, patients, and public in the United Kingdom (World Health Organization, 2017). Cultural safety forms an integral part of the vision of HEE. It offers health care training that is guided by cultural respect, cultural awareness, cultural knowledge, cultural sensitivity, and competence in all the areas of the program. Along with the enhanced quality of care, the organization also promotes a culturally safe environment irrespective of the location and background of the individual across the entire United Kingdom. Cultural safety remains embedded in all the major aspects to deliver enhanced healthcare services.

Our Position

The Health Education England:

• Works closely with the NHS partners locally, regionally, as well as nationally on the basis of shared priorities. 
• Works with a number of partner organizations in order to replicate and scale up the good practices of education and training for patient safety (Commission on Education and Training for Patient Safety, 2016). 
• Supports a world-class approach to education and training and creates opportunities for people coming from all background (Commission on Education and Training for Patient Safety, 2016). 
• Employs the influence of the key stakeholders to encourage diversity and inclusion in the healthcare system. 
• Works with other provider organizations to encourage learning that facilitates meaningful involvement of the patients and promotes shared decision making.
• Promotes a culturally safe and respectful environment for better health literacy
• Provides equal access to health education and training for all service users. 

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Rationale

Why having such a statement important for providing a culturally safe healthcare environment?

Cultural safety has become highly important while delivering healthcare services to patients. Cultural safety goes beyond the cultural knowledge and understanding of the patients and emphasises the power imbalance that exists in the relationship of a patient and a practitioner (Richardson & Williams, 2007). It shifts the authority as well as the power to the patients who receive care and gives them the ultimate say as to whether the healthcare services offered was culturally safe or not. 

The concept provides empowerment to both the healthcare practitioner as well as the patient. It aims at eliminating the potential inequality or disparity existing in the relationship (Richardson & Williams, 2007). The fundamental of the culturally safe healthcare environment lies in preventing healthcare recipients from the imposition of the cultural belief of healthcare practitioners. 

The position statement of the Health Education England will enable the staff and students to develop and promote a healthcare environment and culture free of power imbalances, racism, and discrimination. With a respectful and culturally safe environment, the health outcomes will automatically be improved. 

The importance of effective communication in the provision of a culturally safe environment

Effective communication between the healthcare providers and the patient is important for the delivery of quality care (Sung & Choi, 2018). Through effective communication, healthcare practitioners can be well aware of the culture, beliefs, attitudes, behaviour, and biases of the patients. Through effective verbal and non-verbal communication, the practitioners aim to identify the personalized needs of the patients (Brooks et al., 2019). It will enable healthcare providers to create a culturally safe environment and provide quality care to the patients. Moreover, culturally sensitive communication will promote respect as well as understanding among the individuals and enhance the level of satisfaction of the patients and their family members (Brooks et al., 2019). On the other hand, the lack of effective communication may increase the risk of miscommunication and widen the cultural disparities, thereby leading to poor health outcomes, and lower satisfaction among the patients.

Explain the relationship between health literacy and effective communication

Health literacy can be referred to as the ability of the person in understanding and acting on health related information. Limited health literacy may lead to misunderstanding of the health information, faced increased difficulty in following the medical instructions, and results in the inappropriate use of the healthcare services (Wynia & Osborn, 2010). Limited health literacy among patients becomes a barrier to effective communication between healthcare providers and patients. Using simple language and patient-friendly navigation and education materials can help overcome the issue (Wynia & Osborn, 2010). The Health Education England educates the healthcare providers about the issues of health literacy and enables them to use better techniques for effective communication.

Rationale – Influences

The external influences (historical and contemporary, factors like the media) that may contribute or detract from culturally safe practice in the healthcare environment

While healthcare organizations are working towards the creation of a culturally safe healthcare environment, there are certain factors that can influence such an environment even more. The aim of creating a positive image of the organization can contribute significantly towards the reinforcement of a culturally safe healthcare environment (Clarke, 1999). Moreover, contemporary organizations with enhanced standards can be another potential contributing factor.

How might this contribute to improving the health outcomes of the organization’s target clients?

Such positive influencers will automatically improve the health outcomes among the target clients of the Health Education England. It will enable future healthcare practitioners to develop the skills to promote a culturally safe healthcare environment (Den Hartog, Boselie, & Paauwe, 2004).  This, in turn, will result in effective communication among the practitioners and patients, thereby leading to enhanced health outcomes.

What are the barriers to implementing this position statement that might exist within the organisation?

Lack of accountability, resistance to change, underfunding, and inadequate training can be some of the potential barriers to the implementation of the position statement existing within the organization (Laverty et al., 2017). 

Conclusion

Health Education England is committed to creating a culturally safe environment. Moving to a culturally safe healthcare environment can eliminate all the potential power imbalances existing between the healthcare providers and the patients. The cultural safety position statement will enable the identification of the potential gaps and work towards building a culturally safe healthcare environment. It will bring about equity and ensure better health outcomes.

References

1. Brooks, L. A., Manias, E., & Bloomer, M. J. (2019). Culturally sensitive communication in healthcare: A concept analysis. Collegian, 26(3), 383-391.
2. Clarke, S. (1999). Perceptions of organizational safety: implications for the development of safety culture. Journal of Organizational Behavior: The International Journal of Industrial, Occupational and Organizational Psychology and Behavior, 20(2), 185-198. 
3. Commission on Education and Training for Patient Safety. (2016). Improving safety through education and training.
4. Den Hartog, D. N., Boselie, P., & Paauwe, J. (2004). Performance management: A model and research agenda. Applied psychology, 53(4), 556-569. 
5. Health Education England. (2019). Retrieved May 25, 2020, from https://www.hee.nhs.uk/about
6. Laverty, M., McDermott, D. R., & Calma, T. (2017). Embedding cultural safety in Australia’s main health care standards. The Medical Journal of Australia, 207(1), 15-16.
7. Richardson, S., & Williams, T. (2007). Why is cultural safety essential in health care. Med. & L., 26, 699.
8. Sung, S. Y., & Choi, J. N. (2018). Effects of training and development on employee outcomes and firm innovative performance: Moderating roles of voluntary participation and evaluation. Human Resource Management, 57(6), 1339-1353. 
9. World Health Organization. (2017). WHO Country Cooperation Strategy 2018-2022: Pacific Island Countries and Areas (No. WPRO/2017/DPM/027). World Health Organization. Regional Office for the Western Pacific.
10. Wynia, M. K., & Osborn, C. Y. (2010). Health literacy and communication quality in health care organizations. Journal of health communication, 15(S2), 102-115.