Hello from Martyn, Rae and Katie. We’re really excited to guest blog this week on behalf of the ELHT LGBTQ+ Network.
We wanted to take a moment to reflect with you on the last month. June is international Pride month and ELHT was proud to celebrate it together across the Trust. Although current Covid restrictions have prevented some of the more ambitious ideas from coming to life, we were still able to ‘raise a flag’ (the Pride flag has in fact been flying over our Blackburn and Burnley sites for the entire of month of June) and help the Trust show support for our LGBTQ+ colleagues and patients.
As part of the celebrations, colleagues at the Trust were encouraged to wear rainbow items of clothing on Thursday 24 June and to take a selfie with the Pride photo frame. We saw lots of colleagues joining in, which was a really fabulous show of ally ship and unity. Lots of wards and departments also put up Pride flag bunting and we took over our Trust Inclusion Twitter (@ELHTInclusion) and tried to share as many pictures as we could.
It was a pleasure to see so many people proudly wearing the NHS LGBTQ+ Rainbow badge. We’ve now had a whopping 1283 colleagues complete the ELHT LGBTQ+ training and show their commitment to learning about the challenges that are faced by LGBTQ+ patients, colleagues and community members in work and when accessing healthcare. Everyone who completes the training will get an NHS Rainbow Badge which tells everyone who sees it that you’re non-judgemental and will be a supportive ear – especially to people from the LGBTQ+ community.
We know many people ask if there is still a need for Pride. The 2018 LGBT in Britain – Health Report found that one in seven LGBT people avoid seeking discrimination from staff and as part of the National LGBT Survey 2018, 40% of trans people reported having faced at least one negative experience in healthcare in the previous year. The Transphobic Hate Crime Report 2020 from Galop found that four out of five respondents had experienced a form of transphobic hate crime. LGBTQ+ people experience a range of health inequalities and are often exacerbated by barriers when people try to access services for treatment or support.
As well as benefitting our patients and the community we serve, it’s vital for all of us to be able to feel our whole selves at work, accepted and appreciated for our individuality. Through the Trust promoting Pride month and supporting our LGBTQ+ network, it shares the message that we are stronger together and that our Trust supports individuals from all backgrounds and finds opportunity and power in our collective diversity.
We’re often reminded that mental health problems can affect anyone, but the prejudice and bias faced by many LGBTQ+ people can mean they are disproportionately affected. The NHS website has some information that may help people within the LGBTQ+ community who are affected with mental health problems. For more information, you can click here.
As a staff network we see our role as being a critical friend to the Trust, to challenge where we see room for improvement, to advise where there are new developments and to support the Trust in offering the best possible experience to colleagues and patients.
Thanks for reading this blog and joining us in celebrating Pride month.
Martyn, Rae and Katie.
