Published: 02/11/2018
NHS England’s Equality and Diversity Council commissioned the LGBT Foundation to create a Sexual Orientation Monitoring Standard (SOM) with the help of partners like NHS Digital and the National LGB&T Partnership. The purpose of this standard is to maintain a whole consistent database across the entire Health and Social Care system.
Issues SOM could help with
The SOM standard can help with data on a number of issues:
- The needs of people within the Lesbian, Gay, Queer, Pan and Bisexual communities are often unrecognised and/or not addressed, which can lead to the following outcomes:
– They might not get the right health advice or treatment
– They might be at increased risk of certain conditions, which might not be missed by their healthcare worker
If we have a more complete picture of the situation, our services can do more to help. Monitoring Sexual Orientation will help to ensure that:
- All Health and Social Care Organisations are able to demonstrate the provision of equitable access for LGBT+ individuals.
- Care providers have an improved understanding of the impact of inequalities on Health and social care for LGBT+ populations in England.
Find out more about Sexual Orientation Monitoring Information Standard.
