Cardiff & Vale Health Charity received a generous donation from NHS Charities Together to help those in Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities during Covid-19.
One area that has received this NHS Charities Together funding is our Elan Team. Midwives in the Elan team care for women who require additional social support. The funds will help provide essential items for pregnant asylum seekers who are often disadvantaged and from BAME backgrounds.
Wendy Ansell, Specialist Elan Midwife who cares for and supports for pregnant asylum seekers tell us a bit more about her role here:
Wendy said: “When women arrive in our country, it’s really hard for them to access the care they need. They don’t speak the language, they don’t have any possessions and don’t have any money to help them buy the things they need for pregnancy and birth.
“The women come to me at all stages of pregnancy, some of them might be full-term and haven’t had any prenatal care at all.
“Any money we receive for our service is extremely useful and much appreciated. These funds will help us purchase essential items such as breast pumps, which I’m always in need of as these women from BAME communities under the asylum process just cannot afford them.
“I feel it is important that the funds are used sustainably. Language is a real barrier for accessing services for women from BAME communities. With these funds we’ll be able to purchase an iPad which I can use as a visual aid, to show films and pictures teaching women about what happens when they are pregnant. I can show them where to attend appointments on a map. I can take this equipment into their homes. It will be invaluable in improving the family’s understanding of how to access and benefit from maternity services.
“The money received from NHS Charities Together through Cardiff & Vale Health Charity and the items subsequently purchased for these women will make a real difference to the comfort and care women receive – thank you.”
Akmal Hanuk, Chair of the Charitable Funds Committee said: “I’d like to say how extremely grateful we are to NHS Charities Together for their generous funding to help those who have been adversely affected and / or are vulnerable within our BAME communities. With these extra funds we can really make a difference to the care we provide to women and their families, at what I’m sure, must be an extremely difficult and worrying time for them.”