It is important to remember that staff are expected to be non-judgemental in their attitude to all patients and service users and to afford an equal standard of care and treatment to all. LGBTQ+ patients sometimes find it difficult to disclose their sexuality and/or gender identity to healthcare professionals and are concerned about confidentiality. Staff are expected to be sensitive to the individual needs of all patents and service users and provide dignified care and treatment to all.
We are a long-standing Stonewall Diversity Champion, which allows staff access to specialist training on LGBTQ+ issues and an opportunity to attend the Stonewall Cymru Annual Conference. Through the programme, we are able to enter a submission to the annual Stonewall Workplace Equality Index. This is a bench marking tool, which scores performance around workplace initiatives to create an inclusive working environment for staff across a wide range of public, private and voluntary sector organisations.
Healthcare professionals describe anyone working in the health service be that, doctors, nurses, physios, porters or others. Some of these people are straight, some are gay, some are bisexual, some are transgender, but all of us deserve to be treated with respect by our patients and peers.
We have an LGBTQ+ staff network, which provides peer support for staff who identify as LGBTQ+ in a safe and confidential environment. It acts as a voice for staff who identify as LGBTQ+ and works with health board colleagues to improve the workplace and clinical experience for LGBTQ+ staff and patients. For more information on the Network please contact: alistair.armitage@wales.nhs.uk
This report finds that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people are at risk of not receiving high quality end of life care services, with many facing problems in terms of being treated with dignity and respect and seeks to address this. It follows the nationally recognised six-step end of life care pathway and provides case studies, issues for health and social care staff to consider and key recommendations. Click here to view the route to success in end of life care report (opens in new tab)