Category: Health Care

Health Literacy E-Learning

Health Education England and NHS Education for Scotland have produced joint e-learning on Health Literacy

This Health Literacy e-learning takes approximately 35 minutes to complete. It introduces the importance of health literacy and covers teach back, chunk and check, using simple language, using pictures and routinely offering help. The content relates to both clinical and non-clinical settings and may be used as a refresher for team members or as an introduction for colleagues who are interested in health literacy.

Register for the e-learning here

Homelessness

Case study of ‘My Right to Healthcare’ cards which explain the rights of homeless people to accessing GPs

The cards were given to people experiencing homelessness for them to show when registering at a GP surgery. They emphasise that no identification or proof of address or immigration status is needed to register with a GP.

Read more about the case study here

Health and social care and LGBT Communities: First Report of Session 2019–20: Report, together with formal minutes relating to the report

House of Commons Women and Equalities Committee, October 2019

This report finds that too often LGBT people are expected to fit into systems that assume they are straight and cisgender. But the Committee has found that deep inequalities exist in health outcomes for these communities and that treating them “the same” as non-LGBT people will not address these poor outcomes. The report finds that too few health and social care providers are actively thinking about LGBT people when they plan their services and that senior leaders are not doing enough to ensure that LGBT-inclusion is hardwired into commissioning strategies. This problem filters all the way down to training, where medics of the future are not taught how to provide LGBT-inclusive treatment. While few people set out to discriminate, training currently sends the message that sexual orientation and gender identity are not relevant to providing “person-centred care”. This is, in fact, essential. At the moment, there seems to be neither the leadership necessary to ensure services are designed to be LGBT-inclusive nor swift enough improvements among staff on the ground.

Click here to view the full report.

Advancing our health: prevention in the 2020s

Department of Health and Social Care, July 2019

The DHSC, together with the Cabinet Office, has published this Green Paper setting out proposals to tackle the causes of preventable ill health in England. It signals a new approach to public health that involves a personalised prevention model. It will mean the government, both local and national, working with the NHS to put prevention at the centre of decision-making. These proposals are open for consultation. The closing date for responses is 14 October 2019.

Click here to view the full report.

Raising the equality flag: Health inequalities among older LGBT people in the UK

International Longevity Centre UK, May 2019
This report highlights new findings from a recent project to explore the discrepancies in health outcomes experienced by older LGBT people.  The research reveals that a lifetime of prejudice and stigma is leading to worse physical and mental health, poorer access to health and social care, as well as greater levels of social isolation and loneliness among older LGBT people.  The report calls for action to address health inequalities for older LGBT people through improving the inclusivity of mainstream health and care provision, strengthening the training of health and care staff, and enhancing data collection around older LGBT people and their health and care needs.
Click here to view the full report.