Eastern European families in the district are getting better access to speech and language therapy services thanks to the efforts of frontline health workers.

Staff in the speech and language therapy team at Bradford District Care Trust have taken a number of steps to make sure children and their families from Czech Republic and Slovakia get the same quality of service as more established communities in the area.

Patients can now receive appointment letters in their own language, as well as English, and have access to a range of materials including leaflets and CDs on topics such as helping their child to speak. Interpreters are also being employed who attend all initial appointments.

Louise McChrystal, consultant speech and language therapist, said: “We really believe in supporting children’s language skills across all of their languages. It helps children learn English better when they have a well-established home language.”

The service has teamed up with Bradford Council’s Children’s Services to go out to schools to meet families to introduce them to the service and find out about their needs.

Staff from the Care Trust’s Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) also attend the sessions to offer more general advice such as how to register with a dentist.

Louise added: “This started out as a way to let people know who we are and what we do, but it’s been so successful that other services have got involved including dental and health visiting.”

Gail McAllister, special educational needs co-ordinator from Whetley Primary School, said the project had helped families get the support they need.

“The parent workshop held in school for dental, health and speech and language services has given our Eastern European families a better understanding of how to get help for their children,” she said.

“Knowing that an interpreter will be present increases parental confidence. We are really starting to build up relationships with families.”