NHS services
The majority of respondents who used NHS services, 46%, said that they ‘sometimes’ feel comfortable sharing their sexual orientation with this service, with a further 23% saying they are ‘usually’ comfortable. This may seem positive at first glance; however, this means that almost 1 in 4 people often do not feel confident sharing their orientation.
Comments under this question suggest that people are carefully assessing the situation before coming out, to keep themselves as safe as possible.
“[I] would only usually disclose to individuals if it was appropriate and I felt safe.”
“Kinda depends more on whether or not the person in front of me seems queer. Or even a woman. (…) I tend to feel more open around women.”
Other people commented about discrimination from NHS staff when they had come out:
“I’ve worked in the NHS and found many parts of it intrinsically homophobic.”
“With the context of NHS mental health services I’ve been told ‘we both know you’re not bisexual’ and other similar denials/judgements of my sexuality.”
As the demographic data for this survey show, the bi+ community has a high proportion of people with chronic illnesses or disabilities[18]. This means many will use the NHS regularly. Not feeling safe when you need medical care adds more stress to an already difficult situation, and so people rely on their instincts to decide whether they can safely disclose information about themselves even when it may be relevant to their health.
“All depends on how my gut says the person or people will react.”
Footnotes
- Disabled World (2022) ‘LGBT and Disability: Information, News, Fact Sheets’ (Return to reference [18])
