Essex: Bid for better care for gay, lesbian and bi-sexuals (From Maldon and Burnham Standard)

Essex: Bid for better care for gay, lesbian and bi-sexuals

9:00am Tuesday 24th July 2012 in Local News

A guide on providing better care for terminally ill gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transgender patients has been published.

Bridget Moss, who is also education director at St Helena Hospice, Colchester, lead a year-long study into end-of-life care for LGBT people.

Speaking to focus groups of terminal patients and their carers, she found many felt let down by their treatment.

Many carers often assumed their patients were heterosexual and paid no attention to their specific needs.

Some patients complained that health professionals made assumptions about their lifestyles or their personal details came under scrutiny.

Now her findings, commissioned through the NHS, have been developed into a detailed guide - The route to success in end of life care.

Achieving quality for LGBT people. The ground-breaking work is available to anyone in end-of-life care, patients and their families.

It will be circulated to health bosses, St Helena hospice staff and support groups. Her message - to ensure LGBT people are treated with dignity and respect at the end of life, to ensure they are not afraid to seek help or discuss issues, and to banish the automatic assumption that patients are heterosexual.