We’re pleased to see the release of the short film, ‘Care & Loss: LGBTQ+ experience and expectation of end-of-life care’, produced by METRO Charity. This film helps to shed light on the challenges older LGBTQ+ people face when navigating the care system.Commissioned by Greenwich and Bexley Community Hospice, it features stories of those within the LGBTQ+ community who have faced prejudice, discrimination and abuse from those who were employed to care for their loved ones within various care and hospice settings.

One of the people interviewed in the film is Ted Brown, a British gay activist and member of Opening Doors , who met his partner Noel Glynn at the first London Pride back in 1972. Noel, who suffered from dementia, was placed by Lambeth council at Albany Lodge nursing home in Croydon where he was “beaten, taunted and mistreated by care home staff.” 

Opening Doors attended a debate at Westminster in September 2023 which revealed  that LGBTQ+ people experienced worse social care than non-LGBTQ+ people overall. The case of Ted and Noel, although extreme, highlights the growing issue of systemic homophobic abuse that exists within the wider health and social care system.Eileen Chubb, Founder of Compassion in Care, reports that the charity received 423 complaints of homophobic abuse in UK care homes last year, a figure that she describes as just the "'tip of the iceberg”’.

At Opening Doors, we’re proud to offer our Pride in Care accreditation to health, housing and social care organisations. All organisations undergoing the accreditation are assessed on providing quality care and support to LGBTQ+ people over 50. We have also delivered hundreds of training sessions to various UK organisations to provide greater visibility of the needs of older LGBTQ+ people, and how they can provide a more welcoming and inclusive environment to those accessing their services. 

We stand with those, including the brave individuals featured in the film, who have been unfairly treated due to their LGBTQ+ identity.If you are interested in finding more about our Pride in Care accreditation, please visit: https://www.openingdoors.lgbt/pride-in-care-quality-standard or contact us here: [email protected]