Tackling disproportionately poor outcomes and experiences

The evidence that LGBT+ people have disproportionately worse health outcomes and experiences of healthcare is both compelling and consistent. With almost every measure we look at LGBT+ communities fare worse than others. This is unacceptable, and we need to increase our efforts to address these health inequalities.

The 2017 National LGBT survey, with over 108,000 responses, described a situation where LGBT+ communities face discrimination, felt their specific needs were not being met, had poorer experience and had major concerns about accessing healthcare that should be a right for all.

• at least 16% of survey respondents who accessed or tried to access public health services had a negative experience because of their sexual orientation, and at least 38% had a negative experience because of their gender identity
• 51% of survey respondents who accessed or tried to access mental health services said they had to wait too long, 27% were worried, anxious or embarrassed about going and 16% said their GP was not supportive
• 80% of trans respondents who accessed or tried to access gender identity clinics said it was not easy, with long waiting times the most common barrier

Following this, the Government Equalities Office brought together a national LGBT+ action plan to tackle the issues that had been identified in the survey.

We also maintain the Sexual orientation monitoring information standard to provide a consistent mechanism for recording the sexual orientation of all patients/service users aged 16 years across all health services in England.

More about LGBT+ health

• LGBT+ action plan priorities
• Sexual orientation monitoring information standard