Responding to Dementia Inclusion for All CNHLC Dementia Awareness & Support Project Eddie Chan 18 July 2014

Can anyone tell me the name of the first Chinese migrant in the UK?

Mr Shen Fu Tsong In 1686 a young Jesuit convert from Nanking called Shen Fu Tsong arrived at the court of James II and became the first recorded instance of a Chinese person in Britain. The King was so taken with him he had his portrait painted and hung in his bed chamber.

History of Chinese Arrivals  Chinese in the UK are a heterogeneous group  Late 19th century Seamen employed on British merchant ships in the late 1860s, settled in ports such as Limehouse in London and Liverpool.  1950s – 1960s Agricultural workers from Hong Kong and people from the former British colonies, such as Malaysia and Singapore, with specialist skills, such as nursing and accountancy.  1970s – 1980sEthnic Chinese formed nearly 80% of the Vietnamese refugee community.  1990s – presentMainland Chinese seeking economic freedom in Britain.

Chinese Seaman Left: Tea getting ready for shipment (1908) / Right: West India Docks (1892)

Lodging Types Left: Strangers Home for Asiatic (1911) / Right: Chinese Boarding House Ah Tack (1911)

Limehouse Causeway Left: Limehouse Causeway (1920‘s) / Right: Owner in front of Chinese Shop (1920‘s)

Pennyfields Left: Pennyfields (1910‘s) / Right: Pennyfields & Turner Buildings (1927)

Chinese Shops Left: Chinese Grocery (1920‘s) / Right: Chong Shung & Ching Yeu Kee (1920‘s)

Hand Laundry Left: Lee Chinese Laundry (1920‘s) / Right: Dung Chong Chinese Laundry (1920‘s)

Chinese Restaurant Left: Chinese Restaurant & English Grill (1932) / Right: owner to pick live chickens (1932)

London Chinatown

Chinese Population Changes  1991 National Population Census – 160,000  2001 National Population Census – 245,000 with over 80,000 in London  2011 National Population Census – 394,000 with over 125,000 in London  Figures excluding refugees, asylum seekers and irregular migrants (estimated 100,000)  Overseas Chinese students in UK now – 100,000+  Estimated Chinese population is at 600,000+ (including irregular migrants)

CNHLC  Established in 1987 as London Health Resource Centre  Big Lottery funding in 2000 to become a national organisation  Aims to promote healthy living and facilitate access to health care for Chinese in the UK

Core services of CNHLC  Sunday bilingual doctor’s surgery  TCM clinic  Chinese Mental Health  Disability & Carers Support  Counselling  Needs assessments / Researches  Cancer awareness  Drop-in services  Healthy eating and exercise  Hep B clinic

Chinese community in the UK  The most dispersed BME community  Barriers – language & cultural  Quiet & passive/Invisible/Silent minority  Service providers stress that it is difficult to offer suitable services to the Chinese community because they are so unreachable  Reluctant to accept help of others outside the immediate family

Emerging Issues  An ageing population – people live longer  In 2010 – 820,000 with dementia in UK  Costing £23 billion per year  1/3 of elderly people will get dementia before death  For Chinese - Long periods of working living in catering  limited social circle  Poor language skill- access to mainstream service hampered  Generation gap – loss of traditional family support  Cultural issues – misunderstanding/stigma  More than 8000 London Chinese are 65+

CNHLC London Dementia Awareness & Support Project  Aims: Removing stigma & promoting awareness  Pan-London: work in partnership with local community centres  Promotion: workshops/Chinese language booklets/Tea House  Support the early diagnosed/carers  Home visits/referral/benefit advice/telephone line  Involve volunteers/recruit dementia friends

Thank You Eddie Chan