Queer people face greater obstacles than the general population when accessing alcohol treatment, experts have warned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mistrust of healthcare providers, a lack of specialist services and communication problems all make it more difficult for LGBTQ+ individuals to access substance abuse treatment, despite the fact that members of the community have higher rates of drug and alcohol use than the general population.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen someone doesn\u2019t speak the language metaphorically or physically, it\u2019s really quite difficult for people to be understood when they walk through the front door of a service,\u201d said Ben Kaye, a counsellor specialising in substance misuse within the LGBTQ+ community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He pointed out that NHS forms often list gender options as man, woman and other, making it difficult for transgender or non-binary individuals to accurately express their identity.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He also explained that many doctors are unable to provide adequate treatment and advice because they are not familiar with popular drugs within the LGBTQ+ community.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
An example of this is GHB\/GBL, an addictive substance commonly used in chemsex but that the NHS does not have a specific code for in their system. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Shannon Murray, a researcher at the University of South Wales, has found that one in eight LGBTQ+ individuals still report receiving unequal healthcare, with this figure rising to 32 per cent for transgender people.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She said accessing drug and alcohol treatment was a particular issue for transgender individuals because medical professionals might misunderstand their needs or attribute their substance use issues to their gender identity.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She noted that previous negative experiences with healthcare services may lead people to avoid formal treatment altogether, and to rely on informal support networks or attempt to self-manage their substance use issues instead.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While there are many LGBTQ+ specific drug and alcohol support services in London, disparities across the country are a major issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ben said: \u201cIt\u2019s a real postcode lottery. The kind of service you are going to be receiving really does depend on where you are located. London is awash with LGBTQ services, but when I was in Dorset there was hardly any.”\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said strengthening support networks would be critical to improving access to treatment as hostilities towards the LGBTQ+ community increase with the recent Supreme Court ruling on the meaning of \u2018sex\u2019 in UK law.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTaking on the system is a very difficult thing to do. What we can do on the ground is services can be better when people need help.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Queer people face greater obstacles than the general population when accessing alcohol treatment, experts have warned. Mistrust of healthcare providers, a lack of specialist services and communication problems all make it more difficult for LGBTQ+ individuals to access substance abuse treatment, despite the fact that members of the community have higher rates of drug and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":207,"featured_media":73913,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2121],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-73902","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-campaigns-lgbtq-alcohol"],"yoast_head":"\n