Have you seen our rainbow badges and lanyards?
Have you seen our rainbow badges and lanyards?
Wearing a pride badge or pride progress lanyard is a way for us to show that we're an open, non-judgemental, and inclusive place for people who identify as LGBTQI+.
Listening to you
It means you can be open about who you are, however you identify, and how you feel, without judgement or worry about being judged.
It means that we’re a friendly ear, and that you can talk us about anything that affects your health and well-being. And if we can’t help you there and then, we’ll try our best to point you in the right direction.
We’re encouraging our colleagues to take our pledge, and to wear their pride rainbow badge or lanyard with pride.
Speak up
We know that speaking up can be difficult, but we expect all our staff to act with our HEART values in mind.
Our HEART values, combined with our pledge, mean that you should feel able to speak up if something goes wrong or if you feel you’ve been treated unfairly.
We’re here to listen, not judge.
Our pledge
Our teammates who wear a pride badge or lanyard have pledged that:
- you can talk to me freely about difficulties you are facing and I will do my very best to find support for you
- our organisation is a place of inclusion where we respect and celebrate LGBTQI+ patients and staff
- I will challenge discrimination towards LGBTQI+ people in our organisation
About our progress pride rainbow lanyards
Our lanyard importantly depicts the progress pride flag: black, brown, pink, pale blue and white stripes represent marginalised people of colour in the LGBTQI+ community, the trans community and those living with HIV/AIDS.
The arrow points to the right to show forward movement, while being along the left edge shows that progress still needs to be made.
About the rainbow badge
A survey by Stonewall published in 2018 showed that patients who identify as LGBT+ face inequalities in their experience of NHS healthcare:
- One in five LGBTQI+ people do not disclose their sexual orientation when seeking general medical care
- One in sevenLGBTQI+ people have avoided treatment for fear of discrimination
We think this is unacceptable, and everyone who works for the NHS has a key role in making things better.
This is where the Rainbow Badge initiative comes in. It originated at Evelina London Children's Hospital with a message to promote inclusion and openness.
What does LGBTQI stand for?
LGBTQI+ stands for lesbian, gay bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning and intersex, and the + simply means that we are inclusive of all identities, regardless of how people define themselves.
Sometimes, you might see it in different forms or with different letters, but the message is the same: inclusivity and acceptance.
Come and have a chat
If you’d like more information about the rainbow badge, or if you’d like to find out what our LGBTQI+ network are up to, email us at lnwh-tr.lgbtqi@nhs.net.