Cultural awareness and anti-discrimination training for health workers are among the recommendations of a health strategy for ethnic minorities being finalised by the Eastern Regional Health Authority.
Dedicated language interpretation services are also recommended in the plan, for which funding approval is being sought.
Mr Frank Mills, from the Northern Area Health Board, said the aim of the strategy was to produce a "strong and solid foundation" for addressing the health needs of ethnic minorities.
The strategy proposed funding for non-governmental groups working with ethnic minorities to help identify their health needs, cultural awareness training and anti-discrimination training for all health-service staff and dedicated interpretation services to break down communication problems.
Mr Mills said private companies currently provided interpretation facilities for health workers, but there were no training standards in operation. He said health or public service interpreters could be trained about ethics and patient confidentiality and could also be used by local authorities and gardaí.
Mr Mills was speaking yesterday at the announcement of a peer-led health information service for asylum-seekers funded by the Northern Area Health Board and supported by the Reception and Integration Agency, which oversees accommodation provision for asylum-seekers.
The Health Information Project has three outreach workers who visit asylum-seekers in three Dublin reception centres to provide information about medical provision. The health information officers have seen more than 840 people in the first six months of the pilot programme, according to its co-ordinator, Ms Lisa Mauro-Bracken.
The information officers use adult education materials including "story cards" in several languages to help newly arrived asylum-seekers understand the range of medical services available to them, including voluntary health screening. The take-up rate of the screening for HIV, tuberculosis and hepatitis is about 70 per cent.
The project was launched by the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Mr Ivor Callely.