294 people who use LGBT Health took the time to tell us what they thought about our services

“I feel able to dream and envisage my life as a parent, and feel genuinely happy to know there is support and a community for us and our children. Growing up I didn’t have this real sense of potential and fulfilment as a queer woman”

“A sense of community and acceptance/validation, friendships with peers, information and help to progress with transition and improve my mental health, and invaluable support from staff without which I might not still be here”

“I’ve gained so much, my life was undergoing massive change when I first contacted the centre, and they helped me through every step. I was able to come out to my whole family, they helped me through my separation from my opposite sex partner and helped me find resources and activities which have connected me with the community. It’s been a massive help in my life”

We conducted our annual Service Evaluation again in late 2017 to find out more about who uses our services and what you think of them. The survey gave us lots of feedback which will be invaluable in further developing our services. Here is a summary of what you told us:

Key findings

“The staff I meet at events are full of genuine care, spirit and energy, and their friendliness is felt by everyone I see. It shows that your staff and volunteers are dedicated and as a community member I hope that we can keep them. Such a valuable resource.”

“You are incredibly important to many people on so many intricate and interconnected levels that all work together to benefit individuals, the LGBT+ community and society at large. You are essential and awesome”

LGBT Health is engaging with a really wide range of individuals of all ages who identify right across the LGBT spectrum – and beyond

• 92% of you rated our staff as excellent or very good
• 83% of you said that you found the quality of our services as excellent or very good
• 82% of you rated your overall experience of the organisation as excellent or very good

What difference LGBT Health has made for you

• 80% of you are more confident in seeking support (up from 75% in 2016)
• 78% of you reported that you feel better about yourselves (up from 69%)
• 75% of you feel more aware of services (up from 67%)
• 74% of you report feeling less lonely (up from 69%)
• 69 % of you feel more connected to your community as a result of using our services
• 67% report that you have better mental and emotional health (up from 58%)

What you enjoy and value

“I’ve gained a wealth of community support, much more connection to the community, individual support access to resources.”

“A fantastic increase in the connection with the community around me. A huge increase in confidence about not only myself but around and with other people.”

• Social interaction
• Sense of community and community support
• Welcoming and accepting environment
• Wide range of information and support
• Improved wellbeing and self- awareness

Your suggestions for improvements and our response

“Continue to provide the excellent service that you do. It was an absolute god send to me when I found out about the range of activities available to me, I am 55 and finally feel part of my community, knowing that you are their makes me feel at ease if I ever needed any help, I know if will be given with compassion and confidentiality. Thank you so much.”

“Continue reaching out to those less aware of you services.”

Access and inclusion

• We will continue to communicate with you in a range of ways, ensuring that information about what we do is readily available
• We will continue to look at accessibility of our services and events
• We are committed to ensuring our services are inclusive and responsive to needs. The service evaluation allows us to continue to monitor our reach into the community

Publicity and promotion

• In late 2014 we launched our new website and in 2016 we revamped our quarterly programme. In 2017 we reviewed our range of publicity tools and started work on our social media and communication strategy which will continue into 2018.

Range of delivery

• We will use the feedback from this survey to develop our quarterly programme of events to ensure it remains varied for the whole community.

You also provided a wealth of suggestions for new or repeat activities, which we will certainly refer to as we plan our programme over the coming year.

What you can do for us 

Firstly do keep giving us your feedback, so we can ensure we deliver the services our communities need!  Also, the survey showed that many of you hear about us by word of mouth, which means that you can really help us to reach others by spreading the word.

Many thanks to all of you who responded

Your feedback is invaluable to us!

Our 2017 annual survey is now live
and waiting for your feedback.

Each year, we ask everyone who accessed our services (no matter how long or often) to give us their comments on our programme of services, events and groups. This is your chance to let us know what we did well and what we could improve on, including opportunities to suggest future events or groups you’d like to see happen, how to improve our accessibility and many more.

It is also a time for you to reflect on the impact our services had on you. We love to hear about personal journeys and how far you have come. This helps us tailor our services to your needs the best we can. It also helps us collect evidence of needs and gaps to feedback to our funders so we can demonstrate that our services are vital to our local community.

The survey is a vital tool to the organisation and we would really appreciate if you could spare some of your time to complete it. And as a thank you, we want to give you the chance to enter our prize draw and maybe win a £40 voucher of your choice.

To complete the survey, visit the link:
www.bit.ly/LGBTsurvey2017

Deadline: Tuesday 19th December 2017

Thank you for your help.

A drive to improve mental health services for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and trans people has begun today with the launch of a new guide by the Mental Welfare Commission.

The guide, which was co-produced with LGBT Health and Wellbeing, has been launched in a bid to increase awareness of LGBT rights amongst mental health professionals, and help health and social care services to deliver more person-centred care and support.

It aims to address inequalities in the support and treatment of LGBT people across Scotland’s mental health services, and features a number of recommendations for making services more accessible and LGBT-friendly. Copies will be sent out to all psychiatric wards in Scotland, as well as primary care and community services.

Dr Gary Morrison, Executive Director (Medical) at the Mental Welfare Commission said:

 “We are excited to announce the publication of our new guide on LGBT inclusion in mental health services.

“LGBT people experience higher rates of mental disorder and are much more likely to think about suicide or self-harming. They are also more likely to have negative experiences when accessing mental health services.

“We hope that by producing this guidance we can help eliminate discrimination against LGBT people in mental health services, and equip health and social care professionals with the information they need to provide the best possible care and support.”

Maruska Greenwood, Chief Executive at LGBT Health and Wellbeing, said:

“We were delighted to have the opportunity to collaborate with the Commission on this guide. Through our work with LGBT people we know the tremendous positive difference it makes to individuals to be able to engage with service providers who do not make assumptions, judge or stigmatise them because of their minority sexual orientation or gender identity. We hope this guide will reach new audiences with the important message that acceptance and inclusion are key to supporting LGBT people experiencing poor mental health.”

Catherine Somerville, Campaigns, Policy and Research Manager at Stonewall Scotland, also supported the launch of the guide:

“It is really positive to see the Mental Welfare Commission putting in place this much needed guidance to support mental health professionals to better meet the needs of their LGBT patients. Our research suggests that half of mental health workers, including counsellors, psychologists and psychotherapists do not recognise the relevance of sexual orientation to someone’s health needs (Unhealthy Attitudes, 2015). This guidance is an important step forward to make sure that LGBT people can access mental health services with confidence.”

The document is available here.

Note to Editors

The rate of suicidal ideation and self-harm for LGBT people is 20-25%, compared with 2.4% for the general population.

Jamie Wilson  0131 313 8782

235 people who use LGBT Health took the time to tell us what they thought about our services

 “A fantastic increase in the connection with the community around me. A huge increase in confidence about not only myself but around and with other people.”

 “Better mental health, feel more supported, more in touch with the LGBT community, and feel much less socially isolated.”

 “Without LGBT being in existence, I would have been so lonely and isolated in the world. Self-harming and feelings of suicide would be on my mind constantly.”

We conducted our annual Service Evaluation again in late 2016 to find out more about who uses our services and what you think of them.

The survey, completed by 235 respondents, gave us lots of feedback which will be invaluable in further developing our services. Here is a summary of what you told us:

Key findings

 “This is the best organisation I have ever been supported by. With the hardest working and most talented and committed staff”

• LGBT Health is engaging with a really wide range of individuals of all ages
  who identify right across the LGBT spectrum – and beyond
• 91% of you rated our staff as excellent or very good
• 81% of you said that you found the quality of our services as excellent or very good
• 79% of you rated your overall experience of the organisation as excellent or very

What difference LGBT Health has made for you

 “Meeting people who one can be totally at ease with. Going to things in a group that one would not otherwise attend or could not get to.”

• 75% of you are more confident in seeking support
• 69% of you reported that you feel better about yourselves
• 67% of you feel more aware of services
• 64% of you feel more connected to your community as a result of using our services
• 58% report that you have better mental and emotional health

What you enjoy and value

 “I’ve gained a wealth of community support, much more connection to the community, individual support access to resources.”

“A fantastic increase in the connection with the community around me. A huge increase in confidence about not only myself but around and with other people.”

• Social interaction
• Sense of community and community support
• Welcoming and accepting environment
• Wide range of information and support
• Improved wellbeing and self- awareness

Your suggestions for improvements
and our response

 “I’d like to see more information on services on Facebook as it’s a great way of notifying/reminding people. I have seen a great improvement recently, keep on doing that.”

• Access and inclusion
  • We will continue to communicate with you in a range of ways, ensuring that information about what we do is readily available
  • We will continue to look at accessibility of our services and events
  •  We are committed to ensuring our services are inclusive and responsive to needs. The service evaluation allows us to continue to monitor our reach into the community
• Publicity and promotion
  • In late 2014 we launched our new website and in 2016 we revamped our quarterly programme. We will continue to review our range of publicity tools during 2017
  • We will continue to develop our programme of events to ensure it remains varied

You also provided a wealth of suggestions for new or repeat activities, which we will certainly be referring to as we plan our programme over the coming year.

What you can do for us

Firstly do keep giving us your feedback, so we can ensure we deliver the services our communities need!

Also, the survey showed that many of you hear about us by word of mouth, which means that you can really help us to reach others by spreading the word.

Many thanks to all of you who responded. Your feedback really is invaluable to us!

Download Booklet

A booklet to support people with learning disabilities who are exploring their gender is now available. LGBT Health and Wellbeing, as part of the LGBT Learning Disability project, brought together a team of practitioners to create this unique resource. Contributors included staff from NHS Lothian, City of Edinburgh Council, NHS Forth Valley, and the Equality Network.

Annette Rae, Edinburgh Service Manager with LGBT Health and Wellbeing,
explained that:
Research findings and direct experiences shared by people with learning disabilities who access our Transgender Support Programme, strongly indicate that people with learning disabilities can often be held back from understanding and expressing their transgender status.  Additional barriers include prejudice and discrimination in the wider society, as well as from staff, family and friends that can often result in greater instances of depression, anxiety, loneliness, and even self-harm and attempted suicide. Key messages from ‘What is Transgender’ is that it’s perfectly acceptable to be transgender and positive to explore your gender.  The booklet provides some options about how people might want to express their gender, some suggested next steps, and encourages people to seek support from and talk with others who they trust.

Tracy Lazenby-Paterson, Speech & Language Therapist with NHS Lothian,
commented that:
People with learning disabilities commonly have cognitive, language and memory problems that make it difficult for them to understand and express information effectively, particularly abstract and complex issues. They can often better understand and retain information when it is simple, straightforward, concrete, and supported with visual cues. The literature supports that transgender people with learning disabilities generally identify with concrete aspects associated with gender, such as specific behaviours and appearance, rather than with the more complex, multi-dimensional gender identity model.

When we translate complex and abstract concepts into a small amount of simplified and concrete information, inevitably a great deal of fine detail will be omitted. However, too much language and fine detail can easily overload the individual with learning disabilities, such that they may fail to understand or retain any of the information provided. ‘What is Transgender’ presents information in a format that people with learning disabilities can best understand and retain, and serves as a starting point from which they can further explore the many issues pertaining to transgender identity

For more information and comments about What is Transgender please contact Annette Rae at annette@lgbthealth.org.uk

We’re delighted to announce the launch of SX  – A new project with the ambition to challenge the health inequalities facing gay and bisexual men living in Lothian.

SX is being delivered by us here at LGBT Health, in partnership with Waverley Care and funded by NHS Lothian.

SX will provide a one-stop-shop for men’s health needs including information and advice on sex and relationships and access to regular sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing¹, condoms and lubricant. In addition SX will provide one-to-one support, counselling and a helpline dealing with a range of issues including sexual and mental health, discrimination and other health and social inequalities.

The project is being funded by NHS Lothian and builds on existing services across Lothian responding to research² indicating that gay and bisexual men, and all men who have sex with men, are:

• disproportionately affected by poor sexually health, including HIV and other STIs
• twice as likely to live with mental health issues including depression and anxiety
• twice as likely to have an alcohol or drug dependency, particularly among young gay men
• often victims of hate crime related to their sexual identity
• unlikely to have received any relevant sex and relationship education at school

SX is being delivered by Waverley Care, in partnership with LGBT Health following a tendering process by NHS Lothian.

Speaking on behalf of SX ahead of today’s launch, Waverley Care Chief Executive, Grant Sugden said:

“Scotland gets a lot of things right when it comes to LGBT issues but gay and bisexual men continue to face real health and social inequalities. SX is about bridging that gap.

“Sexual health’s a big part of what we do, talking positively about sex and healthy relationships, and helping guys reduce the risk of STIs. But there’s more to being a gay or bisexual man than just sex.

“Discrimination is still a big issue that puts many guys off looking for support. This can lead to issues around mental health and self-confidence that leave men open to making choices that may not be in the best interests of their health.

“SX gives guys a place within the community where they can come to talk about anything they’ve got going on in their lives. We won’t preach or judge, it’s about listening, understanding and giving men the confidence to live life their way and live it well.”

Dr Duncan F. McCormick, Consultant in Public Health Medicine of NHS Lothian added:

“All of the evidence we have points to the continuing challenges facing gay and bisexual men, and men who have sex with men, and tackling this remains a priority for the health board.

“There are a number of existing quality Sexual Health and Reproductive Health services across Lothian where men who have sex with men can access confidential, convenient sexual health information and testing, even within their own community setting.

“The work of SX will build on these existing services to provide a holistic approach that includes positive discussions around sexual health alongside mental health support and we are looking forward to working with the partners involved.”
To extend the reach of SX and maximise opportunities for community involvement with the initiative, trained volunteers will play a key role in the delivery of the service.

Chris Dalziel, a Volunteer for SX, said:

“As a gay man living in Edinburgh I can’t say how proud I am to be part of a community project that will build and empower our community to take action and tackle the social and health inequalities we face. Services such as HIV tests where results are given in less time than it takes to make a cup of tea will make a huge difference to the lives of gay and bisexual men across the Lothian region.”

Contact
Alison Irving, Communications Manager,
Tel: 0131 556 9710
Email: alison.irving@waverleycare.org