Guest blog from our Writing in Action interns in support of Pride Month 2025

We're delighted to have partnered with Writing in Action to offer writing internships through the month of June.
Ella, Noah and Lee, from Grand Valley State University, Michigan USA, have written the following blog in support of Pride month 2025.

Happy Pride Month!

At St Columba’s Hospice Care, trust, care and compassion, respect and partnership are our central values. We prioritise the wants and needs of those in our care above all else, ensuring they live as well as possible in their final days. Applying these ideals is also essential in providing comprehensive and inclusive care for members of the LGBTQ+ community.

We hope that by highlighting some of the challenges that LGBTQ+ individuals face within hospice care, we can show why diversity and inclusivity are so important at St Columba’s. In addition, we’ll also share some of the practices that staff, the Hospice and the community can use to ensure the wellbeing of all patients, staff and volunteers.

Roughly 184,000 people in Scotland identify as LGBTQ+, making up 4% of the population. With such a large demographic of LGBTQ+ individuals in our country, it’s vital to ensure that hospice care services can properly tend to every patient’s needs. The care that we provide is at its best when we respect the identities and wishes of all our patients and avoid assumptions. We must work to create a safe and inclusive community that allows for healthy relationships to grow and for LGBTQ+ individuals to experience the care they deserve.

Historically, discrimination against LGBTQ+ individuals has presented a concerning issue in healthcare settings. Typically, hospice care has been run by and catered to a wealthier and less diverse demographic. This may indicate why there is such limited inclusivity. A 2016 report from Marie Curie found that 74% of LGBTQ+ patients were “not confident that health and social care services provide sensitive end-of-life care for their needs”. Additionally, Hospice UK found that palliative care staff felt they did not have the knowledge and training needed to care for LGBTQ+ patients. This is very concerning because care for patients that does not cater to their individual needs is insufficient, unsafe and, in some instances, even illegal. Our hospice community believes that all patients deserve access to equal treatment and care.

St Columba’s Hospice Care’s core values can act as a guide to providing proper care for LGBTQ+ individuals. Holding the ideals of trust, care and compassion, respect and partnership close to heart is essential when interacting with any supporters, patients or staff. These key values can also be applied to create a more inclusive and supportive environment. Actions that promote allyship include respecting diverse relationship dynamics, using appropriate pronouns, allowing chosen family members to be part of the decision-making process, and providing care in a gender-affirming manner. Gender-affirming care in a palliative setting can look like asking the patient what style of clothing they would be most comfortable in and discussing what acts of personal care are important to them related to their gender expression.

As a community, we believe in providing care for all. To do so, we must promote an inclusive environment and reach out to groups who may not believe palliative care is for them. By demonstrating allyship and setting clear guidelines for protecting against discrimination, we can show our dedication to taking care of all people and understanding LGBTQ+ issues. These guidelines should address how discrimination should be handled and how staff or volunteers who transition while employed will be supported.

Demonstrating allyship is a very broad concept and there are a number of steps that can be taken, both individually and charity-wide. The Hospice can promote cultural sensitivity, support diverse hiring practices and provide up-to-date training, guidelines and educational opportunities. These practices will help us remain responsive to the diverse needs of our community.

We are happy to already be taking some of these steps as we provide support for LGBTQ+ patients and their families. One example being José who proudly shared his experience under the Patient Stories section of our website. Having been diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer, Rob, José’s partner, found out he only had a few weeks to live. They came to St Columba’s and were well-taken care of by our staff, with pets and family coming and going. And thanks to the help of our Hospice Chaplain, we were able to marry Rob and José, with casual Hawaiian shirts and only close family there – just how they wanted. “It was just a lovely day, one of the best of my life…” José said. Following Rob’s passing, our support groups were open for José, allowing for him to work through his grief with others who had lost their loved ones.

This month, you may wish to learn more about LGBTQ+ issues in healthcare and palliative care. This can grow your understanding of the community, the challenges that exist and the ways St Columba’s can make a difference. You can reflect on your personal experiences and practices and work to apply the core values of trust, respect, care and compassion and partnership to your everyday interactions. Consider looking through some of the links below to find great resources that were used to craft this article and can act as a jumping-off point for your exploration.

- Inclusivity in end-of-life care from Rowcroft Hospice
- Increasing diversity: why and how? By Steph Edusei
- Making hospices safe and equitable for trans and gender diverse communities from HospiceUK
- Tackling the diversity crisis in end-of-life care By Tracey Bleakley
- Equality in Hospice and End of Life Care: Challenges and change from HospiceUK
- End of life care for LGBTQ+ people from HospiceUK
- I Just Want to Be Me Report from HospiceUK
- Trans and Gender Diverse Inclusion handbook from HospiceUK
- It’s more than rainbows in receptions from No Barriers Here
- The route to success in end of life care from NHS England

 Photo credit: Raphael Renter, Unsplash.com