This page forms part of the Transcultural Health resource, published in 2004, and is preserved as a historical document for reference purposes only. Some information contained within it may no longer refer to current practice. More information

Section four: Consultation

Consultation with Black and Minority ethnic communities (and staff) requires specific consideration. This is important because of the barriers that have, in the past, hindered and prevented accurate communication and led to ineffective consultation. These barriers range from lack of consideration of practical issues such as language, to lack of understanding of the cultural, religious and historical factors which influence the way individual Black and minority communities respond to organisations' procedures.

If such issues are not considered in the process of designing and implementing consultation procedures, then consultation with Black and Minority ethnic communities will essentially remain a ‘rubber-stamping’ exercise with the real needs and aspirations of Black and Minority ethnic communities remaining invisible.

Adherence to the principles outlined here should assist in sensitive and appropriate consultation with Black communities in the future.

What is consultation?

The best forms of consultation are those that allow for participative decision making. This should eliminate the frequent complaint of Black communities that they are not valued as participants in the consultation process.
Consultation is a two-way process, regular feedback to groups should be systematic in a number of communication formats (which should be jargon-free) in a variety of relevant community languages.
Consultation should always have a clear purpose, with a statement of aims and objectives and terms of reference. Therefore, from the outset everyone who is involved in the consultation process will be fully aware of the extent and content of their role.
Consultation should not be conducted in isolation, but be part of a wider process. Often Black and Minority ethnic communities/groups are concerned that they are consulted at the end of the process of decision making and therefore, they are only asked to offer a comment on a situation that has already been decided upon.
Creating the right environment is the key to successful consultation. The consultation environment will range from venues to terminology and utilisation of community languages.
Consultation mechanisms should be flexible, unbureaucratic and uninhibiting.
The most productive form of consultation is face-to-face - although written consultation is relevant in certain cases, it may be inhibiting or not accessible for many people in the community.

Mechanisms of consultation

The key to consultation is advance planning. Consultation should always start at the beginning of a process, and not midway through, since this is usually perceived as a ‘rubber-stamping’ exercise.
Consultation should provide sufficient time for groups/communities to adequately respond. A lack of response time could be perceived as ‘rubber-stamping’.
The consultation framework should always be agreed with those who are being consulted, e.g. joint chairs of meetings and joint agendas should be produced.
Consultation with community representative groups should not be restricted to a few individuals or organisations, but should be wide ranging to ensure that all views are taken into accounted.
All relevant information should be made available in advance to those being consulted.
The consultation process must not be duplicated. Service area consultative processes should complement mechanisms and vice versa.

Accessibility

All forms of consultation should be fully accessible to women, people with disabilities, and all sections of the Black communities - e.g. allowances should be made for adequate childcare provision (childcare allowance and crèche facilities), physical access and transportation schedules for people with disabilities should also be provided.
At the request of community organisations, or where issues under consultation warrant it, consultation processes should be restricted to such groups meeting separately - i.e. separate meeting for, for example, Black and Minority ethnic groups, women and people with disabilities meetings.
The days and times of consultation meetings should be flexible to allow equality of access and participation. For example, consultations should not be planned to clash with religious observation e.g. Friday prayer for the Muslim community.

Implementation factors

Consultation should never falsely raise expectations. Groups/communities should know at the earliest opportunity the full extent of the decisions which they can influence. That is, they must know which items are negotiable and which are not.
All forms of consultation should be based on providing accountability. The facilitators must be accountable to the community, as well as themselves, and accepting that they are informed by the communities they serve.
The consultation process should not become another ‘road block’.

Cost implications

Consultation does not always come cheap. The cost implications should always be determined at the design stage of the consultation process.

Assessment and evaluation

All consultation processes should be monitored for effectiveness and modified accordingly.

Role of senior officers

Senior management should always be present at consultation meetings in order that they can provide direct feedback, and develop an empathy with groups/communities. If this is not possible, appropriate feedback mechanisms should be developed.

Specific consideration for women

Consultation with the Black communities has tended to be concentrated with the men of these communities. It has also not been uncommon in the past for agencies to consult men in the communities on issues specific to women, primarily due to a lack of exploration into creating the environment and access opportunities for women to be consulted directly.

The use of women facilitators is another mechanism by which the views of women can be incorporated.

Specific consideration for people with disabilities

People with disabilities from Black communities have not, to a large extent, been directly consulted. One of the prime reasons for this is that there are very few groups in the Black communities run by people with disabilities for people with disabilities. The ones that do exist are run by able-bodied people. This reflects the situation in the wider community.