Young LGBTQ+ people in Wiltshire feel 'unheard and disrespected'
A survey's been looking into health services in the county
Last updated 16th Mar 2022
People in Wiltshire aged 11 to 25 who identify as LGBTQ+ have told a survey that there's a real need to improve health and care services across the county.
A report's been drawn up by Young Healthwatch Wiltshire volunteer, looking into the kind of support they'd already received and what they'd like to see offered from schools, colleges, workplaces and communities.
The independent charity, Healthwatch, aims to hold health and care bosses to account for the services provided for local areas.
The key findings in the report were:
- There is a need for LGBTQ+ support in Wiltshire and there is currently a gap in services
- Education was seen as key in addressing the lack of understanding and discrimination faced by the LGBTQ+ community - this included changes in language and normalising the use of pronouns
- Advice and information was seen as an important area where young people could make informed decisions about the support they needed, but finding support was difficult
- Sex education was identified as a support need and for sexual health services to be LGBTQ+ inclusive
- Transgender healthcare was raised as an issue with long waiting lists for HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy) and a lack of gender reassignment surgeries
The charity's now calling for more education on LGBTQ+ issues for young people, which in turn would help to support adults too.
Young Healthwatch Wiltshire volunteer Robyn said:
"It was great to be involved in this project and hear directly from LGBTQ+ young people, particularly those in more rural areas where young people are often more isolated and even less visible. As a member of the LGBTQ+ community who grew up in Wiltshire, it was also important to me personally, and the feedback really resonated with me.
"I'd like to see far more awareness of and support for non-binary and transgender young people, especially in healthcare and mental health provision. I'm also looking forward to seeing the impacts from the new relationships and sex education legislation on the information and support available to all young people."
Stacey Sims, Healthwatch Wiltshire Manager, said:
"We're grateful to the young people of Wiltshire's LGBTQ+ community for sharing their experiences and ideas with us and to our young volunteers for producing this report.
"It is clear from our survey that there is a need for LGBTQ+ support - for both young people and adults - in Wiltshire and that there is currently a gap in services. We look forward to working with the commissioners of local services to see how support for the LGBTQ+ community can be improved."
Greatest Hits Radio has contacted the Clinical Commissioning Group for Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire for a response to the survey.