Overcoming the fear of coming out
With Pride Month events happening across England celebrating LGBTQ+ communities, what more can health and social care providers do to provide inclusive services? Stonewall research shows that one in five LGBTQ+ people say they have not 'come out' to healthcare professionals about their sexual orientation. Our insights paint a similar picture with LGBTQ+ individuals telling us:
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Staff often made assumptions about the care they need.
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They feared being judged by their healthcare professionals
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They felt excluded by staff using terms to describe services that assumed they were heterosexual.
Transgender individuals told us they’d experienced a lack of acceptance or understanding from healthcare professionals, with staff not using their preferred or chosen name, gender or pronouns in written and verbal communications, despite being asked to. Expressing that they find these experiences distressing and offensive.
Such negative experiences can discourage individuals from seeking the care they need. So, what would help?
LGBTQIA+ individuals told us that their healthcare services would feel more accessible if:
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Staff received inclusivity training to be sensitive to different needs and communicated respectfully.
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Healthcare providers used opportunities such as PRIDE to be visible leads and allies.
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Staff supported the community and showed they could provide a safe, inclusive care environment by wearing NHS rainbow badges
Personal story: A lack of visibility makes me feel unsafe
“It's as if we become invisible and do not exist after Pride month. There is no visibility at my surgery about LGBTQI+ services. I would value seeing leaflets, perhaps a Rainbow flag sticker, in order to feel safer.”
Story shared by Healthwatch Islington
Other concerns we've heard
We've also highlighted two important issues people face and why the NHS must tackle these concerns. We may not hear about these issues frequently, but they have broader patient implications.
Learning lessons from the pandemic to improve care
The COVID-19 public inquiry presents an opportunity for the Government, NHS and social care providers to learn from the mistakes made in the early days of the pandemic. The insight this inquiry will provide can help shape the future of care and create a robust plan to respond to future public health emergencies.
People have told us the pandemic impacted their care and support. People had regular hospital appointments cancelled and couldn’t get an NHS dentist appointment even in an emergency. Others said there was a general lack of support for vulnerable people.
"Client took her daughter for her 12-week scan, but due to Covid, she was not allowed in. Her daughter therefore had to deal with the news that the baby was no longer alive alone. She was allowed to leave the hospital to contact her partner, who was then allowed in to discuss the treatment plan, but he then had to leave. Client's daughter was left waiting for her treatment without any emotional support." - Story shared by Healthwatch Kent in 2020.
We outline eight key areas which must form part of any plan to tackle future public health emergencies.
The cost of living crisis continues to affect people's access to care
The continuing cost of living crisis is pushing more people to make tough financial decisions, directly impacting the care and support they need to stay well.
Our data shows that as many as one in ten people go without medications, they use daily because they can't afford the prescription costs. People have also told us they've missed hospital appointments because of parking or transport charges.
"I've had to have lots of hospital visits lately because of being diagnosed with leukaemia. I eventually decided to ask for help with petrol costs as I am on benefits. It's 20 miles to the hospital and 20 back. I was given £4.60, for 40 miles! In about two months I had about ten appointments and had to pay a lot more than this in petrol money." Story shared with us
Health and care services must understand the shorter-term and longer-term implications of the cost-of-living crisis and, where appropriate, put mitigations in place. We've identified several actions to support people affected by the cost-of-living crisis.
You can read our policy position for more information about our work addressing the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on health and social care access.
What’s the state of care in your area?
If you want to hear what people are telling us in your area, check out the National Reports Library. The library hosts millions of patient views from every local area in England, which you can search through.
Healthwatch Blackpool research rise in vaping behaviours in young people
Following a rise in concerns about young people using e-cigarettes and vapes, Healthwatch Blackpool collected feedback from 4,170 local children and young people, 297 parents and carers and 138 professionals.
Over three in ten young people who participated in the research said they currently or sometimes vape. The reasons young people gave for vaping included coping with stress, improving their mental health, looking cool, and peer pressure. Flavours and the impact of different media also affected their usage.
A third of teachers and professionals voiced concerns about the lack of research on vaping, and over two in five parents and carers raised concerns about safety and the impact on young people's long-term health. Healthwatch Blackpool is taking its findings forward, with local and national stakeholders, including presenting at the "Smoking Cessation and Health (SCAH) Conference 2023.
Healthwatch Blackpool has attracted national interest in its findings, including from the Chief Medical Officer and MPs, and is working with local partners to help find solutions to the issues it found.
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