By Steve Watson-Andrews, Pride in Pharmacy Coordinator.
Community pharmacy is in a strong position to build positive relationships with LGBTQIA+ communities. Pharmacies are local, trusted and an inclusive environment for those people who often can’t, or don’t want to, access other kinds of health care.
Helping pharmacy teams to feel confident to effectively support communities who experience unequal access to healthcare is crucial.
Pride in Pharmacy
At Pride in Practice we are delighted to announce the launch of our new resource to develop LGBTQIA+ inclusion in community pharmacies – Pride in Pharmacy.
Pride in Pharmacy is an interactive online resource which develops knowledge and confidence around LGBTQIA+ inclusivity in community pharmacy. The resource comprises bite-sized modules for self-directed or team-based learning about key themes in LGBTQ+ primary care. Modules include:
- Open and inclusive language
- Visibly inclusive pharmacy spaces
- Public health campaigns
- Support for trans and non-binary patients
Each module provides context for best practice, points for reflection/discussion, and an activity to develop inclusion within your own pharmacy. Pride in Pharmacy also contains a handy LGBTQIA+ glossary and links to further information. We hope that the resource will equip community pharmacy teams with some simple actions that can make their services more accessible and effective for LGBTQIA+ patients.
How do LGBTQIA+ people use community pharmacies?
LGBT Foundation has conducted research into LGBTQ+ people’s experiences of primary care as part of Pride in Practice since 2014. In 2021, we learned from over 900 LGBTQ+ respondents that:
- 83% are regular users of a community pharmacy
- 27% do not feel that their pharmacy meets their needs as an LGBTQIA+ person. This rises to 33% of disabled LGBTQIA+ people and 40% of QTIPoC (Queer, Trans, and Intersex People of Colour)
- QTIPoC and disabled people were much more likely to report receiving a negative reaction to sharing their sexual orientation or trans status with a pharmacist
- 95% of respondents had their needs met in community pharmacy if there was a Pride in Practice award or similar displayed (compared to 65% without)
Pride in Pharmacy is just a brief introduction to the LGBTQIA+ inclusion support provided by Pride in Practice, which offers training, an award endorsed by the RPS, and ongoing support for primary care services. Pride in Practice is fully funded for community pharmacies within Greater Manchester and can be delivered out-of-area at cost. Contact [email protected] for more information. You can also keep in touch through our monthly newsletter.
We want to encourage voices that express the diversity of lived experiences in the profession as part of our inclusion and diversity work. If you’d like to share your story, contact [email protected] or get involved through our ABCD group.