Project 93 works to tackle health inequalities for transgender and gender diverse people in Stoke-on-Trent, responding to barriers reported by members of their community.
Last year the charity, based at the Dudson Centre, secured Tackling Health Inequalities grant funding to develop online transgender awareness training for staff at University Hospital North Midlands NHS Trust.
Building on this work, Project 93 are currently mid-way through a programme of in-person sessions for 300 healthcare staff which aims to cover transgender awareness, inclusive practice and signposting. They are also providing transgender inclusion packs to all who attend which include a copy of UHNM’s policy on the subject matter.
Lewie Bowyer delivers the in-person training in an environment where people are encouraged to ask questions and in which he challenges them to think through the complexities of potential scenarios.
He also gives attendees an insight into his own lived experience – and a time when he was told he couldn’t remain on a men’s ward, had to be moved into a side room and how isolated that made him feel.
The interactive sessions encourage colleagues from different parts of the hospital to work through the scenarios and consider whether they are complying with the law – The Equality Act – and to hospital policy.
Fundamental to the policy is using a person’s affirmed name and pronoun and placing patients on a ward that matches their gender identity.
Lewie says the in-person sessions are going well and complement the online training which was developed last year. He said: “We have had amazing feedback with a large majority commenting that training like this should be mandatory.”
Sophie Barber, Lead Educator for Nursing, Midwifery and Allied Health Professions Inclusion at UHNM, believes the sessions are important and she is keen to extend the training to all front-line staff.
The latest round of grant funding is also being used by Project 93 to support the development of new Cancer Screening resources designed to increase cervical and breast screening uptake among eligible trans patients.
Alongside this, they plan to work with NHS Autism Services to improve outcomes and to run a Transgender Wellbeing session at Combined Healthcare Trust’s Wellbeing College.
