Don’t Look Back: Improving social care
service delivery for older lesbian, gay
and bisexual service users
Elizabeth Price
What do we know?
 Very
little!
 Policy, research, guidance, practice
- the heterosexual imperative
 The ageing experience –
mediated through disadvantage
and discrimination
 Why is the LGB perspective an
issue?
The Legislative Framework
 Providing
protection and
strengthening equality:
◦ The Mental Capacity Act (2005)
◦ The Equality Act (2006),The
Equality Act (2010)
◦ The Civil Partnership Act (2004)
◦ The Equality Act (Sexual
Orientations Regulations)(2007)
Service reform
 The
Personalisation Agenda
 ‘Sexuality sensitive’ care
 Recent developments:
◦ National Carers Strategy
◦ The End of Life Care Strategy
◦ The National Dementia Strategy
◦ The Dignity Agenda
Key Themes
 Accessing
services –
Discrimination and negative
experiences
I came out in the 50s – and that was shit –
now I am dependent on carers and I am
frightened… I am very frightened of them…
what if they find out that I am a lesbian…
what are they going to do to me… I have ‘degayed’ my house… this is much worse than the
50s. I want to be able to be gay in my last days
– I don’t want to have to hide again and I
particularly don’t want to have to hide because
the home help is coming round…
(Older lesbian interviewee quoted in Pugh, 2010)
Key Themes
 Accessing
services –
Discrimination and negative
experiences
 Service delivery – Invisibility
and assumed heterosexuality
My (former) GP prescribed HRT and
said that “it should make my husband
happy”. I was stunned by the sexist and
heterosexist assumptions wrapped up in
this comment.
Older lesbian respondent quoted in River
(forthcoming)
Key Themes
 Accessing
services –
Discrimination and negative
experiences
 Service delivery – Invisibility and
assumed heterosexuality
 LGB specific health and social
care issues
 Positive practice
Conclusions