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http://dublinpride.ie/events/#30

LGBT Awareness Week NI brings visibility and awareness to LGBT people and their families in Northern Ireland.  It is a joint effort by several community organisations, and this year’s theme is Visibility.

LGBT Awareness Week will see a number of events take place across Northern Ireland.  The full programme is available here:

https://issuu.com/cara-friend/docs/flyer-ad-2018

As in previous years, the HSC LGB&T Staff Forum will be taking part in the Belfast Pride parade.  This year's parade will be held on Saturday 5 August 2017 and we would invite you to come along and join us on the parade.

The Pride parade leaves Custom House Square at 1 pm and offers an opportunity for staff to stand alongside LGB&T colleagues to continue to promote an inclusive society.

To find us on the day, look out for the Unison sails / big balloon as we will be nearby.

The PHA will also have a community stall on the day, so if you can spare some time to volunteer at the stall during Pride we would love to see you there.  Just email lgbtstaff@hscni.net if you are interested.

There are over 100 events as part of the Pride festival which are open to all including music, comedy, debate, drama, art, health and wellbeing – http://www.belfastpride.com/events

The LGB&T Forum was nominated as a finalist for the inaugural Inclusive Network Awards which took place on Thursday 19 November 2015. While unfortunately the Forum didn't win on this occasion, the Awards were an important recognition for the work of the Forum which aims to promote inclusivitiy and provides a confidential and welcoming space for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people working in Health and Social Care in Northern Ireland.

Pictured at the ceremony are Paul (current Chair of the Forum) and Deirdre McNamee (Project Lead).

After over 450 nominations, Inclusive Networks Judges have completed their scoring and informed us that the LGB&T Health and Social Care Forum has been shortlisted for the inaugural Inclusive Networks Awards!

Category: Employee LGBT Network of the Year

Nominations for the awards were received by networks, the organisations they represent, other networks they have worked with, charities and community groups they have supported, their members, supporters and beyond. Six networks are featured in the shortlist – more information about the awards can be founds here – www.inclusivenetworks.co.uk/awards/

Judges included: Vanessa Vallely (Founder & MD, We Are The City & Author), John Amaechi OBE (Former NBA Player, Author & MD, Amaechi Performance Systems), Elly Barnes (Founder & CEO, Educate and Celebrate) and Scott Durairaj (Head of NHS England Workforce Diversity and Inclusion at NHS England) – plus many more inspiring people.

The Awards will take place on 19 November 2015.

Ground-breaking guidelines to support GPs to provide the best care possible to their Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans* (LGB&/T) patients have been published by the Royal College of General Practitioners Northern Ireland (RCGPNI), in partnership with the Public Health Agency.

The guidance, which was launched in March 2015 in Belfast, is published in two volumes; Guidelines for the Care of Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Patients in Primary Care; and another specifically related to delivering care to Trans* patients.

Guidelines for the Care of Trans* Patients in Primary Care is thought to be the first guidance of its kind in Europe to educate and inform GPs of the patient pathways available for those who identify as Trans*.

It is estimated that on average, GP surgeries in NI will have around 300 patients who identify as LGB, and some of these patients will have specific medical needs that often go unmet.

To address these, the cutting-edge guidelines have been developed in collaboration with members of the LGB&/T community in NI, as well as LGB&/T rights groups.

Copies of the guidance will be sent to every GP practice in NI to raise awareness of health issues associated with LGB&/T patients and ensure that GPs and practice staff are familiar with treatments and referral processes available to them in primary care.

The guidelines can be accessed via the following link – http://www.rcgp.org.uk/policy/rcgp-policy-areas/lgbt.aspx 

Thousands came out to support the Pride Parade on Saturday 2 August 2015 in Belfast. The Forum walked alongside Trade Unions and as ever the atmosphere was wonderful and the crowd diverse. The theme of this year’s Pride Festival, which is now in its 25^th year, was ‘It’s Time’.

The festival was an opportunity to promote visibility and equality for all. Over 100 events were scheduled over the two weeks which included music, comedy, debate, drama, art, health and wellbeing, further details can be found at www.belfastpride.com

We look forward to upcoming Pride parades in Newry (Saturday 22 August) and Foyle (Saturday 29 August).

Should you wish to find out more about the Forum please e-mail lgbtstaff@hscni.net You can follow the forum on twitter at @LGBT_StaffForum and we would encourage all staff to complete the e-learning tool www.lgbtelearning.hscni.net

Hi everyone

Please see link below for the latest issue of GNI which features an article by the Chair of the HSC LGB&T Staff Forum:

http://issuu.com/lambpromotions/docs/gni_16_online_bf903bb6df9e9d/1

Health & Social Care Change Day – 11 March 2015 http://www.hscchangeday.com/

This is an initiative which encourages people who work in health and social care to pledge to make one change to contribute to patients, service users or colleagues. The LGB&T Staff Forum in Health & Social Care is encouraging staff to wear a rainbow lanyard to send out a positive message to LGB&T colleagues, patients and their families and promote inclusive workplaces. Anyone who would like a lanyard contact Leanne by e-mailing lgbtstaff@hscni.net and tweet a picture of you wearing it, tagging in @LGBT_StaffForum .

The Forum is also encouraging people to undertake the LGB&T e-learning module www.lgbtelearning.hscni.net/