At Westminster the Women’s & Equalities Select Committee (WOMEQ) has recently published its Health and Social Care & LGBT Communities inquiry report. We were delighted to be requested to contribute to this report and to have our submission included in the published report. You can read the report and our submission (essential and valuable reading for NHS organisations and social care providers in both the private and public sectors) through the links below:
https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201920/cmselect/cmwomeq/94/9414.htm#_idTextAnchor070 (Network contribution listed as Number 46. http://data.parliament.uk/WrittenEvidence/CommitteeEvidence.svc/EvidenceDocument/Women%20and%20Equalities/Health%20and%20social%20care%20and%20LGBT%20communities/Written/90975.html
The Network was created originally out of community members representing dissatisfaction with the status quo where treatment of and engagement with LGBT communities and especially more vulnerable members and those with greater needs were concerned, by NHS and social care providers.
The publication of the report is further evidence of the Network’s national level outreach, influence and activity where we have been establishing partnerships in a number of special thematic areas across the UK and in certain cases (our work on LGBT international community members and immigration), internationally.
The breadth and depth of our work over years in the Dorset area to mobilise the NHS to abandon ‘tick boxing’ and move to not only listening to the voice of need, often major need, of community members on the NHS services they receive in order to gain the confidence of the community, has been vindicated by the WOMEQ published report. To have shared our experience and NHS communication and lobbying for badly needed change and improvement at operational delivery, has clearly been a highly valued contribution to this historically important report in Parliament.