Jane Woodhull
Inclusion and Engagement Project Manager
Brighton & Hove LGBT Switchboard
About Jane
Jane is a retired nurse of 40 years who worked in clinical and leadership roles within cancer services. She now works as the Inclusion and Engagement Manager at Brighton and Hove LGBTQ+ Switchboard which is a ‘by and for’ organisation, which exists to support the LGBTQ+ community across Sussex. She is transferring all the skills she learnt in the NHS to the VCSE sector.
The Challenge
Research shows that LGBTQ+ communities disproportionately experience isolation and loneliness, higher rates of poor mental health and long-term conditions due to minority discrimination. In addition, they experience inequalities in accessing, experience and outcomes of healthcare.
Brighton and Hove Switchboard provide LGBTQ+ specific services for:
• Domestic abuse survivors
• Refugees, asylum seekers and migrants
• Older people, dementia and grief
• TNBI social prescribing
The Innovation
As part of a Communities Health Inequalities Programme, Jane focussed on addressing these health disparities within her local LGBTQ+ community. Jane played a pivotal role in setting up a community grant panel enabling small LGBTQ+ organisations to secure funding to support the health and wellbeing of their communities, with 16 applications being successful. She also facilitated the delivery of an LGBTQ+ inclusion programme for primary care staff. As well as providing training, this looked at the policies, language, virtual and physical barriers, and resources available.
300 primary care staff trained with 63% making changes to practices
The Impact
- Increased staff awareness of the needs of the LGBTQ+ community
- Improved access to primary care and other services through inclusive policies and innovative approaches
- Empowerment of grassroots groups to design solutions and support networks
- The Legacy: Creating leadership and self-management skills in communities
