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NHS Rainbow badge - We need your comments

What is the NHS Rainbow badge scheme

The NHS Rainbow Badge was developed and led from Evelina London’s Children’s Hospital – part of Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust. It was created to be a way for NHS staff to demonstrate that they are aware of the issues that LGBT+ people can face when accessing healthcare.

It had its official launch in 2018 and since then over 150 Trusts across England have launched NHS Rainbow Badges. The original model emphasised that wearing a badge is a responsibility. It provided basic education and access to resources for staff who wanted to sign up to the project.

So what is next?

NHS England have commissioned a collaboration, consisting of LGBT Foundation, Stonewall, the LGBT Consortium, Switchboard and GLADD, to deliver Phase 2 of the NHS Rainbow Badge scheme.

This next phase has moved to an assessment and accreditation model and allows Trusts to demonstrate their commitment to reducing barriers to healthcare for LGBT people, whilst evidencing the good work they have already undertaken.

How can I get involved?

We need your help to demonstrate that UHNM has committed to reducing barriers to healthcare for LGBT people and evidence the good work that you are doing.

Trusts taking part will receive a graded award reflecting their current LGBT inclusion work and are able to achieve a, Bronze, Silver or Gold award. In addition to the award the Trusts will receive a comprehensive feedback report and action plan, which is designed to help Trusts achieve the next level and help facilitate meaningful change.

Cae Frary, Specialist Biomedical Scientist and Chair of the LGBT+ staff network said: "The Rainbow Badge Scheme is a benchmarking tool which allows us, as a Trust, to demonstrate the progress we are making on LGBT+ Inclusion. It also enables us to see where we need to do more work.

"The bronze, silver and gold awards are linked to objectives, against which we can measure how well we are doing in making UHNM a supportive, welcoming, friendly and inclusive place for LGBT+ people to work and receive treatment.

"The project is being led by the LGBT+ Staff Network and Patient Experience Team but we need your help! You are our eyes and ears on the ground and we want to hear from you.

"The staff and patient surveys, which are now live on the Trust Website, Intranet, and UHNM & Network Facebook groups, form a large part of the assessment and the more responses we get, the better. The surveys are open to everyone, not just the LGBT+ community, and take just a couple of minutes to complete.

"As Chair of the LGBT+ Network, I cannot stress how important this process is for us. The data collected will guide the network’s activities over the coming years and show us what YOU, our staff and patients want us to focus on, to change and improve."

How do I access the survey?

Scan this QR code or click this link

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