In April 2012 NHS Somerset and Somerset LINk jointly commissioned the Diversity Trust to research the experiences of health and social care with Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Trans (LGB&T) communities in Somerset.

The programme included research, development of a training module and a set of reports and recommendations.

Berkeley Wilde, Director of the Diversity Trust said “we surveyed 250 LGB&T people in Somerset about their experiences of health and social care. Whilst the majority of people reported good health, positive mental health and satisfaction with services, barriers exist for some individuals and groups within the LGB&T communities. These barriers are often compounded when other protected characteristics are considered such as the experiences of older and younger LGB&T people, of Lesbian and Bisexual women and Trans women and Trans men. We hope this report will highlight the good work health and social care services are delivering but will also demonstrate more work can be done to improve accessibility.”

The programme concludes with the reports which are now available online, a series of briefing sheets on ‘Education’, ‘Health’ and ‘Social Care’ and a Training Module for health and social care staff which will be made available online.

You can read the reports here click here

You can read the report summary here click here