Developing a culturally competent practice

Module Summary

Cultural competence is the ability to communicate and interact effectively with people from other cultural backgrounds. For GPs and practice staff, this means delivering effective, quality care to patients who may have diverse beliefs, values, attitudes and behaviours.

Following the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire in London, which largely affected people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities, it became clear to local commissioners that we needed to widen our understanding of cultural differences to address the complex health needs of our patients.

So North London ICS ended up creating our cultural competence training, which recently received RCGP accreditation. This was the result of a two-year process of whole-system partnership with local communities in North Kensington, including those impacted by the Grenfell fire.

Patients shared their views on how our health services could be more culturally relevant. The need for clinicians to have a better understanding of cultural manifestations of grief and bereavement was a top priority, as were interventions to support women to break the taboo about menopause.

While the needs of every patient population will vary, cultural competence is a foundational pillar for reducing disparities through culturally sensitive and unbiased quality care.

Healthcare inequities are often experienced in communities like those in North Kensington, where the barriers to access can be poorly understood. In order to achieve equity of outcomes, some groups may need more or different support or resources. Developing cultural competence in primary care will go a long way to understanding the factors that can lead to inequities, and how to address them.

Author

Dr Meena Nathan and Krishna Sarda advise on developing a greater cultural awareness in general practice after working with the Grenfell community.

Date module published: 15 February 2023