Contents           - Long term/chronic illness or disability
           - Lifestyle related illnesses and hypertension
           - Cancer
           - Mental health
           - Immunisation
           - Maternity services
           - Children and young people
           - Rough sleepers and homeless community members

Long term or chronic illness or disability

People from groups experiencing deprivation and exclusion spend more of their life in poor health. Given the socioeconomic disadvantage and lower life expectancy common in Roma communities, many Roma patients will also be at a higher risk of frailty [1] through having multiple or long term conditions at an earlier age.  Service delivery models oriented around single conditions can result in complex care schedules for people with multiple health conditions and care needs, and lead to inadequate communication and confusion about how to plan for long term conditions. Although there is little national level data on Roma health, several local health needs assessments (Leeds [2] [3]  (2016), Barking and Dagenham [4] (2010)) have identified high rates of long term conditions in the Roma community. Health care workers in some [5]  local areas have observed that it is hard to engage with Eastern European (including Roma) communities on screening and management of long term conditions.

​Recommendations:
​
  • Develop inclusive and responsive education programmes on self-managing long term conditions in partnership with local commissioners, NHS providers and the voluntary sector.
  • Develop co-located “one stop shops” for advice and clinical services with local commissioners, NHS providers and the voluntary sector.
  • Offer extended consultations and holistic, patient-centred reviews for long-term conditions to people with multimorbidities.
[1] Friends, Families and Travellers: Reducing Health Inequalities for People Living with Frailty (2020) 

[2] A Leeds HNA from 2016 surveyed the Roma community and found that 30% of respondents said they, or a family member living in the same household, had a longstanding illness or disability. In a Barking and Dagenham HNA from 2010 of of East Europeans including Roma, chronic obstructive airways disease (COPD) and pneumonia were among the leading causes of death.

[3] Leeds City Council: Health within the Leeds Roma Community (2016) 

[4] NHS Barking and Dagenham: Health and Social Care Needs Assessment of Eastern European (including Roma) individuals living in Barking and Dagenham (2010) 

[5] City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council:  Needs Assessment - Bradford District's Central and Eastern European Communities (2014).
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