- Conference
- 2024 National LGBT+ Conference
- Date
- 18 July 2024
- Decision
- Carried
Conference notes that LGBT+ members often face barriers to accessing healthcare services due to discrimination, lack of understanding, and heteronormative practices within the healthcare settings.
This discrimination in healthcare settings leads to a reluctance in seeking care and poorer health outcomes. Reports indicate that 14% of LGBT+ people in England avoid seeking healthcare due to fear of discrimination, and this number rises to 37% among trans individuals. A Stonewall Scotland report found that 17% of LGBT+ people avoided seeking healthcare for the same reasons, with 31% of trans individuals specifically affected.
A Health Needs Assessment published in 2022 by two of the largest health Boards in Scotland and Public Health Scotland found that LGBT+ individuals face significant health inequalities across all measures of wellbeing (social, physical, mental, emotional, and financial). Non-binary and trans people, along with bisexual women, reported the worst health and wellbeing indicators. We also know that mental health issues are profoundly prevalent among LGBT+ individuals, necessitating focused efforts to address these challenges.
Conference understands our trans colleagues face particular challenges. Waiting times for gender identity services are excessively long, with average waiting times ranging from 25 months in Wales to over 88 months in England for a first assessment and with further delays to starting hormone therapy.
A large section of our membership work in the National Health Service (NHS) and we know that they want to provide the services that meets the needs of the population and that they struggle daily in trying to achieve it. We need to fight to ensure our colleagues have the adequate resource to provide the services they know that are needed.
We also know that there is a significant lack of cultural competency among healthcare providers. Many LGBT+ individuals report that healthcare professionals lack understanding of LGBT+ issues. Over the years, there have been several attempts to address this, but they have been poorly resourced and seen as a “nice thing to do”.
We are also well aware of being led by 14 years of a United Kingdom (UK) Conservative government, our NHS has been pushed to beyond breaking point. With the election of the new Labour government to Westminster and with elections in our devolved nations over the next two years, the time is right to build an effective campaign to ensure that LGBT+ healthcare is equitable, accessible and meets the needs of our LGBT+ members.
Conference calls upon the national LGBT+ committee to work with other relevant parts of UNISON as appropriate, to establish a campaign to address the needs of our LGBT+ members to be able to access equitable healthcare service, which includes:
1)Increasing funding and resources that addresses the needs of LGBT+ people when accessing healthcare services
2)Mandatory training for healthcare providers to identify the specific needs of LGBT+ people and to provide fully inclusive services
3)Integrated mental health support which meets the needs of LGBT+ people
4)Improve and streamline access to Gender Identity Services.