On September 29^th, the Surrey-North Delta Division hosted a follow-up session with community partners. This session focused on understanding how stigma in its many forms impedes access to quality care and social support, and on considering ways that this can be addressed within the Primary Care Network and its services. The event was part of our continuing effort to bring community partners togethers and to discuss challenges and barriers faced by patients when it comes to primary care access and support.

 

Stigma is the judgement and treatment of an individual based on circumstances outside of their control, be it race, culture, mental health, substance use, gender identity, age, gender or any other trait. Stigma can lead to discrimination, misdiagnosis and mistreatment, and acts as a barrier to positive or successful health outcomes.

 

More than 40 participants, including community partners and physicians, joined the session to share stories of where they have seen stigma and the impact of stigma on receiving/providing support or care from both patients' and providers’ perspectives. Many of the stories were personal and impacted either the storyteller personally, people they care for or those they support. Breakout room groups also discussed possible actions to address stigma, including developing protocols and processes to hire staff and manage conflict, and promoting positive examples to educate stakeholders and promote awareness while reducing shame and judgement.

 

With input from diversified sectors in our community joining this session, including social services, a food bank, schools, community physicians, specialized primary care services, the City of Surrey, and Fraser Health, we were able to have a fruitful, in-depth conversation and to identify a broader scope of issues that have not been adequately addressed previously. 

 

The Surrey-North Delta Primary Care Network is currently facilitating various types of conversation to bridge the disconnect between primary care providers and patients, and to build a culture that promotes education, trust and empathy. Having an open conversation similar to this session will ensure the system we create is culturally safe with trauma-and-violence-informed care while responsive to inequities.

 

A full detail report of the stories with challenges and proposed actions, as well as the progress of the Primary Care Network development in Surrey-North Delta, is available below.