While Pride Month might have drawn to a close, Pride Season has only just begun here at OUTpatients! And this year we kicked off the season with a bang at Edinburgh Pride and Pride Cymru. It was our first time in both cities, and we have several more dates across the country to come.    

At Edinburgh, we hosted our stall in the community hall, where we had the pleasure of meeting hundreds of new people keen to learn about our work. On the other hand, in Pride Cymru, we found ourselves in Cooper’s Field amidst bright rainbow stages, community stalls and a high-charged environment celebrating the resilience of our community. 

We were really pleased at the welcome reception we received. Many people were keen to learn about how to access cancer screenings as an LGBTIQ+ person, and were happy to learn that they could access our resources and join our online peer support groups from anywhere in the UK (and beyond)!

At both the prides, one of the most popular attractions was our  spinning wheel game, where people could win a freebie by busting a myth about LGBTIQ+ cancer care. This became a huge success, and gave us an opportunity to directly engage with the attendees in a fun and interactive way, while raising awareness at the same time. In addition, we had an engagement wall where attendees could dedicate a message to someone in their lives who has gone through the cancer journey.

We also asked attendees the question, “What do you expect from queer healthcare”? People then wrote down changes they would like to see  with many then writing with many that would make healthcare more LGBTIQ+ inclusive. It was fantastic to reach new communities around the country, and left us with a renewed gratitude for the strength and solidarity in our community. 

Thank you to everyone who joined us or stopped by to say hello! We are grateful to the organisers of Cardiff and Edinburgh Pride for making us a part of their celebrations, and giving us the opportunity to empower more LGBTIQ+ people to access the healthcare they deserve.

Happy Pride To All! We will also be attending multiple other Pride events across the UK, so if you see us, come up and say hi!

• Bristol Pride

• Trans Pride Brighton

• Margate Pride

• UK Black Pride

• Manchester Pride

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If you want to discuss a partnership opportunity, or have a campaign that you would like OUTpatients to be part of, head over to our Contact page.