Minutes
LGBT Forum for Merton
Notes and Actions from the LGBT Forum meeting on Monday 18 May 2009
Present:
Henry Nelless – LBM Councillor
Chris Worthy – LGBT Representative, Police
Frances Newell – Head of Commissioning - Equalities and Patient/Public
Involvement, Merton & Sutton PCT
Shar Jordan-Passmore – LMO Youth Group
Lynne Jordan-Passmore – LMO Youth Group
Angie Bishop – Community member
Deirdre Costigan – Community member
Maureen Branch Davis – Diversity and Community Cohesion Officer
Helen Cook – LBM/PCT
Paul Alford - Merton GP and on Merton PCT’s Professional Development
Committee
Adrian Davey - PCT’s Assistant Director for Mental Health Commissioning
2 apologies
Item
1. Welcome
Forum Facilitators
Samantha Cornick – Stronger Communities Project Officer
Kate Martyn – Stronger Communities Manager
Actions
Kate Martyn welcomed everyone to the LGBT Forum and thanked
everyone for coming. The two speakers Dr Paul Alford, Merton
GP and on Merton PCT’s Professional Development Committee,
and Adrian Davey, PCT’s Assistant Director for Mental Health
Commissioning, were introduced as well as the topic of the
meeting – health care for the LGBT community. Kate stated the
importance of hearing the LGBT communities’ views on the health
care services available to them and stressed the need to act to
improve services based upon these views.
2. Minutes and actions of meeting on 19 January 2009
The Minutes of the last meeting were agreed
Some actions will be ongoing and progress will continue to be
reported to the LGBT community forum. These include:
To note
Action 1: Police to attend LMO Youth Group to offer information
about how to report homophobic and transphobic hate crime.
Chris Worthy & Shar
Jordan-Passmore
Action 2: Merton Council to do more work about where to access
information from other services to put on the LGBT website. Link
to this page to be circulated with these minutes.
Samantha Cornick
Action 8: Progress on teacher training of LGBT issues to continue
to be reported to forum on a regular basis.
Sian Rowland
Action 9 &10: Unreported LGBT hate crime briefing paper to go to
Hate Crime Partnership Management Board progress to be
reported at next meeting.
Kate Martyn & Samantha
Cornick
Action 11: Research regarding national studies about LGBT
needs ongoing – start publishing to website.
Samantha Cornick
Action 16: Age concern to be invited to next meeting.
3. How can health services be made more
appropriate/sensitive to the needs of the LGBT community in
Merton?
Samantha Cornick
Introduction from Dr Paul Alford who focused on GP services and
Adrian Davey who focused on mental health services for LGBT
people. Both felt that a major difficulty when providing services to
the LGBT community is that there is no way of asking them firstly
whether they are LGBT, or recording this information for patients.
And secondly, there is also no way of finding out their particular
needs except via complaint systems and through national studies.
They also both accepted the existence of prejudice against LGBT
people within the community at large and following this within
health care services. They stressed that more needs to be done to
tackle this.
Followed by questions and discussion from the forum.
Question – LGBT people have been around since time began.
What health services already exist for the LGBT community?
Answer – Very little as no comprehensive needs assessment has
been undertaken, therefore today we would like to hear your
issues and we will take these away and improve our services
based upon your feedback.
The only real way we have of knowing about issues is through our
confidential complaint system.
Issues raised by the LGBT Community Forum:
1. PCT staff and all health professionals should have a clear
understanding of the specific health needs of the LGBT
Health issues discussed
by the LGBT Forum to be
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
community and how they differ to the population at large.
It’s not about treating everyone exactly the same; it is about
understanding differences and responding accordingly.
An urgent need is for health professionals to understand
that lesbian women are still at risk from cervical cancer and
need to be screened.
The need for GPs to understand that lesbian women do not
want to be asked repeatedly about contraception. This can
lead to them feeling alienated and not listened too which
will discourage them from attending doctor’s surgeries for
serious problems.
The need for health staff to recognise and understand the
impact of hidden and institutional homophobia
Health staff to recognise and understand that the LGBT
population has a higher prevalence of mental health
issues, as result of the pressures society can place on
them because of their sexual orientation or gender. Also
there are lifestyle choices associated with being LGB such
as smoking, drinking and recreational use of drugs.
GPs and maternity services need to accommodate and
understand the rise in same-sex couples wanting to have
babies, and how this relates to recent legislative changes.
The forum also stated that the above issues raised were only a
starting point and that there were more needs unidentified – for
instance at this particular meeting there has been a low
attendance of gay men and transgender individuals. Both
Stonewall and Terrence Higgins trust undertake national
consultations, which could be helpful to the PCT in the absence
off a needs assessment locally. Also to engage with the LGBT
community the most appropriate method would be to go to them
via groups that already exist.
4. Discussion on LGBT priorities in the draft Corporate
Equality Scheme
Merton Council has been working to refresh the old Corporate
Equality Scheme, which has now become out of date with the
emergence of a new government set Equality Framework. The
Equality Framework replaces the Equality Standard used to asses
how equal and diverse Councils are in England. The new
Equality Framework takes into account the recent changes to the
law with the creation of a Single Equalities Bill to replace and
gather together a range of previous legislation.
Mertons Corporate Equality Scheme will look substantially
different following its refresh with chapters divided into the various
equality strands to make the document more transparent and
highlight the actions that need to take place in all the different
areas of equality.
incorporated into
educational event for GP
practices, PCT induction
training and other training
for clinicians e.g.
screening workshops.
PCT equalities and
diversity champions
group to review feedback
from forum at June
meeting.
LGBT community needs
to be considered in
mental health
commissioning and the
LGBT forum contacted if
appropriate.
LMO posters and
information to be
circulated to GP surgeries
and put up. LMO to
circulate via Frances
Newell.
PCT to consider wider
research on experience of
local LGBT community in
Sutton and Merton in use
of health services.
At this meeting we would like feedback regarding the draft chapter
about the LGBT community.
Comments:
Page 5 – Information about the trans community should be
included in the gender section and not the sexual orientation
section.
Page 18 – Would like to see a commitment about ensuring
transgender people equality in access to goods, facilities and
services.
Would like the right of transgender people to be recognised as
their re-assigned gender, to include transgender people who have
not yet got a gender recognition certificate.
Overall the LGBT Forum were happier with the new format of the
document and felt that it made actions to be taken much clearer.
Note – any further comments about the draft Corporate
Equality Scheme can be sent to Maureen Branch-Davis by 15
June, which is when the draft must be finished.
5. LGBT History Month Report
Report shared with LGBT Forum.
6. Meeting Plan
No issues raised with proposed plan and questionnaire to be sent
for ideas about future meeting topics.
7. AOB
1. End of the first year of the LGBT Forum, therefore we will be
asking about your views regarding how the forum is run and a
questionnaire will be sent to the LGBT Forum with the minutes.
2. London Pride will be taking place on Saturday 4 July and
volunteers are needed, see www.pridelondon.org
More consultation to take
place before next year’s
history month.
Older peoples coordinator to be invited to
next meeting.