Welcome to our August update, where we take you through what’s been happening inside OUTpatients over the past month.
Pride season
Over the past month, OUTpatients has been back on the road attending Pride events across the country. At Wigan and Stockport Pride, we teamed up with NHS Greater Manchester Cancer Alliance to speak directly to the community about Lung Cancer Screening.
This outreach is part of our ‘Curious?’ campaign, which has been running across Greater Manchester over the summer. As well as raising awareness, we were able to answer any questions people had, and direct people to more detailed information on our website. (We also sampled a Wigan Kebab while we were up there: delicious, absolutely no notes.)
We also attended Trans Pride Brighton, our home away from home. As well as connecting our community with cancer information and support, it was wonderful to see so much trans joy and mutual care.
Meeting with Hackney council
As part of our London outreach programme, Community Conversations, we have been hosting events across the city to bring conversations about cancer to underserved LGBTIQ+ groups. As Hackney residents, we felt it was about time to show Hackney Council to share what we have been up to across the borough, and the country.
In our meeting, we were able to raise the issue of LGBTIQ+ health inequalities in cancer care. This includes the staggering figure that non-heterosexual people are on average 12% more likely to die of cancer in England. The council was very receptive, and we spoke about ways we could collaborate locally to ensure everybody can access the care they need.
We our planning our next Community Conversation in London soon. Sign up to our newsletter to make sure you don’t miss it!
The EHRC Code of Practice
We have now completed our expert review of the EHRC’s Code of Practice. The Code sets out guidance for organisations on how they can operate single-sex services after the Supreme Court Judgment. We believe the updated Code increases barriers for trans people accessing key services, including cancer care.
Following our review, we will now start to develop practical resources for patients and professionals in cancer care and make these freely available as soon as possible.
Launching our Anal Cancer Campaign
In partnership with Bottom Line and Cheeky Charity, we are encouraging people to ‘Get the whole picture’ on their anal health in our new anal cancer campaign.
Anal cancer is rare, but it happens! It is also more common in women, men who have sex with men, and people living with HIV.
The good news is that up to 91% of cases are thought to be preventable. Knowing the main risk factors can help people to reduce their risk. It can also help people to know what to say to their GP if they notice something different from their normal.
That’s why we have built a risk checker tool for people to use alongside our symptom awareness information. It’s free and easy to use, so why not try it out now!
Developing our education content
OUTpatients regularly provides training to professionals in the NHS, industry, and charity sector. From front line staff to decision-makers, we believe that every cancer professional should understand how to provide person-centred care to LGBTIQ+ people. Over the past few months, we have been revising our education content to make sure that the training we provide reflects the latest research and policy.
Staff social
This week, we spent a sunny evening together for our annual staff social. Our small team got the opportunity to ‘bake off’ with the Big Bake East. While we made some questionable looking baked goods, we went home with smiles on our faces and bags full of cake!
If you want to be part of the OUTpatients team, we are always looking for volunteers. Get in touch if you would like to learn more.