Earlier this year, the Care Quality Commission’s report ‘A different ending’ highlighted how discrimination continues to have an adverse impact on LGBT people’s access, needs and experience of end of life care services.
Marie Curie have also recently published a report, ‘Hiding who I am’, which examines the barriers faced by LGBT people in accessing support at the end of life and how well the charity’s hospices serve the needs of this community.
The new resource, ‘Being accepted being me: understanding the end of life care needs for older LGBT people’, is intended to help health and social care staff and volunteers to learn more about listening, understanding and responding to the unique needs of LGBT people.
The new publication has been jointly produced and written by NCPC and Kathryn Almack, principal research fellow at the Sue Ryder Care Centre for the Study of Supportive, Palliative and End of Life Care, based at the University of Nottingham.
Kathryn explains: “This resource sets out key concerns that older LGBT people talked to us about. It outlines discussion points, ways forward and good resources to look at.
“It is our hope that health and social care professionals and volunteers will use this resource to learn more about listening, understanding and responding to the unique needs of LGBT people.”
The chief executive of NCPC, Claire Henry, adds: “The needs of LGBT people still often go unrecognised in end of life care and we hope that people will find this resource of helpful to address that.
“In particular, we need to challenge the mindset that says ‘we treat everyone the same’. We are not all the same, we are individuals, and we need to make sure that LGBT people’s needs and preferences are understood at a personal level. People who have lived with discrimination in the past should not have to worry about being treated fairly and with respect when they are dying.”
The new resource can be purchased from NCPC at a cost of £5 (or £2.50 for NCPC subscribers).
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