5 minutes until our #WomensRightsInHealthcare webinar for #LGBTHealth. Join us here for live updates and snippets direct from the event. 
And we're live! First, we hear from @philippawheeler for a brief introduction and housekeeping, who introduces @LizBarkerLords
Baroness Barker begins our webinar highlighting what can be done at leadership level in the #NHS to address LGBT inequalities in healthcare, beginning with visibility.
"...The fundamental problem that we have is invisibility and a lack of leadership. And what we know is if you are not counted in the NHS, you don't count." - @LizBarkerLords
Dr Sue Mann is our first speaker, a Medical Expert in Reproductive Health, discussing sexual and reproductive health for the #lgbtcommunity
Dr Sue Mann focuses on the issues on education around visibility, highlighting that there is an obvious problem with access - not just getting into services but when in services too. Lesbian and bisexual women receive less than 50% cervical screening.
.@NikkiKF joins us next to discuss primary care and GP services available for LGBT patients. #LGBTHealth
"We know we have more training to do for our staff to understand LBT women." - A critical point about how GP staff can further develop learning on health issues such as hormone treatment and mental health care for #LGBT patients.
"It's not enough to just collect data, it's about training people to use it." Dr Sue Mann, during a question, suggests that we need to translate data into direct intervention and change.
"For 15 years lesbian women have been telling you about our experiences coming forward for cervical screening, how do we get that into change in the NHS?" @LizBarkerLords asks the important question.
In response, Dr Sue Mann responds; "It is about a cultural shift as well as a training shift, we need to think about the issues right through the whole pathway we have." #LGBTHealth
"This is something that has been said over many years and hasn’t changed. I would love to get more into the strategy moving forward and make sure there is accountability which will hopefully be a driver for change" Dr Sue Mann
@NikkiKF "We need to do two things - make this the business of everyone in the NHS as we haven't so far, and also the business of those who make decisions. In the primary care space I can commit to this."
"I think we talk the talk a lot about inequalities and we don't necessarily walk the walk in terms of impact and the data is out there." Dr Sue Mann continues.
We're back with @NikkiKF who advises the #NHS needs a "strong link to community leader volunteers who provide insight and ensure that patient voices are included."
She advises that we need to be connecting with community assets to facilitate a more holistic approach to care for #LBT women. #WomensRightsInHealthcare
Dr Sue Mann chips in to address how we can put monitoring into the local spec, into national spec, and into training and data.
"Primary care networks are game changers, particularly in the sphere of women's health...which are really trying to get closer to the population they serve. They are looking at a population footprint, rather than looking at those who walk through the door."
Baroness Barker challenges; "Where is the data, is it inclusive, are we looking at the breadth of the population in the way that we should be, and are we using it in the way that we should do?"
"We must try to move the agenda towards broad inclusion and identity but need to broaden the question of inclusivity. Women have needs right through from puberty until they age and those needs will be different. We need to acknowledge that diversity."
We move on with our event to hear from @KateNambiar who will discuss gender identity services #LGBTHealth
A powerful start with a personal recollection of a transphobic experience, and an acknowledgement of "where population is marginalised, discriminated against and disenfranchised, their ill health will flourish".
"HIV is an example of that, there is this enormous variation in HIV prevalence. What is it that is causing this huge variation - well it generally comes down to marginalisation, discrimination, rights to work, people being trafficked and...
"...forced into the shadow economy and sex work, people not being able to access free healthcare and testing and trans healthcare." Dr Kate Nambier #LGBTHealth
"We have been able to monitor gender identity within those who have been diagnosed as HIV positive. it is due to work that a number of people have been campaigning for. We can see that the prevalence of HIV in trans people is vastly lower, around 0.05% in the UK"
She acknowledges that these numbers are because we have the gender recognition act and testing for HIV for free in the NHS, but "one thing that worries me intensely is that we are looking at the potential rollback of that healthcare ."
@KateNambiar concludes;
She starts by acknowledging LBT women are "not one thing - we are a really super diverse community", but "LBT women experience significant health inequalities starting at a really young age."
"Both in the UK, and internationally, there is a much higher prevalence of mental health problems in LBT women when you compare them to straight and cis people - there is evidence that this is nothing except discrimination." @Nancy_M_K from @stonewalluk
Nancy Kelley discusses reproductive healthcare for the LBT community; "There are all of these structural barriers still in place for lesbian woman, and there are barriers of heteronormativity."
"Where straight couples or couples in heterosexual couples are expecting to try and conceive at home as the starting place of IVF, for lesbian women you have to have a few courses of IUI which is not available on the NHS and is in the region of £10,000."
And the barriers speak for themselves; "Over a quarter of lesbians and less than 10% of bi women do not even attempt to have that conversation. It’s one of the ways we are discouraged from accessing healthcare."
"There is a real call to action about a step change in the inclusivity of mainstream services, better funding of specialist services and we know this goes from the top to the bottom of the NHS." @Nancy_M_K addresses the exclusion of LBT women from health services
.@LizBarkerLords asks; "There is a massive move towards telemedicine, digitisation... it seems to me that if we are in a time of unprecedented change and with the use of technology... how do we build the momentum for change?"
When asked what would be your key message to practitioners, @KateNambiar's message is simple; "Listen to the communities you are serving. Listen to trans women and bi women and non-binary people.”
A powerful, moving and insightful event. A big thank you to our incredible speakers @Nancy_M_K, @KateNambiar, @NikkiKF, @lizzietweeter, @philippawheeler and Dr Sue Mann and thank you to our chair @LizBarkerLords
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
