Healthcare
There are an assortment of healthcare issues surrounding gay men and lesbians.
The main ones are:
access to healthcare
reluctance to access healthcare and advice
equality of treatment
recognition of family and partner
prevention of disease and cancers
discrimination against gay men giving blood
Gay Men Reluctant to see GPs
Sigma Research published ‘Doctoring Gay Men’ based on the results of the 2003 gay men’s sex survey. The report found that less than half of gay men in the UK are out to their doctor; a third would not wish their surgery staff to know they were gay. Overall satisfaction with GP services among gay men is high, but only 7% of gay men go to their GP for a sexual health check or HIV test. The Department of Health wants to provide more sexual health services for gay men through their GPs, but the report indicates that the stigma which prevents gay men telling their GP they are gay needs to be addressed. Currently GUM clinics have ‘exclusive rights’ about a patients sexual health and do not disclose any information to the GP. If the GP is to take the whole patient into their care that may have to change.
Anal Cancer Warning
A high number of sexual partners and the use of some recreational drugs could increase the risk of anal cancer in gay men, according to a study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. The risk of developing “low-grade lesions,” which could lead to anal cancer at a later stage, was associated with having more than five partners and the use of poppers during sex. Having anal intercourse at an older age, using injection drugs two or more times a month during the previous six months and infection with a greater number of human papillomavirus (HPV) types were also seen as possible precursors to cancer development. Variants of HPV have been linked to cervical cancer and anal cancer in previous studies, with some research suggesting as many as a third of sexually active gay men carry the virus. Campaigners in the UK and US called for more awareness-generating projects on anal cancer, and for screening strategies similar to the smear tests given to women. A vaccine to prevent this cancer is being developed.
BMA tells Doctors to do more to fight discrimination in the NHS
“Everyone has the right to be treated equally, regardless of their sexual orientation. Doctors and patients should feel safe and confident when they are in hospitals and surgeries,” says Dr Vivienne Nathanson, the BMA’s Head of Science and Ethics launching new BMA Guidance. The BBC reports that doctors as well as patients face discrimination based on sexual orientation. This discrimination is now illegal and doctors must do more to fight it, says the BMA.
The NHS currently uses an estimate that at least 1 in 20 of the population are lesbian or gay – so an increased awareness that colleagues and patients may not be heterosexual is crucial to treating each other sensitively and respectfully.” said Dr Rachel Hogg, co-chair of the Gay and Lesbian Association of Doctors and Dentists
Gay men Giving Blood
Since the start of 2006 there has been a growing world wide campaign to remove the ban on gay men giving blood, regardless of their HIV status. At the time of writing the ban has been lifted in some countries and has been modified to allow gay men to give blood in other countries; the position in the UK has not changed to date.
In Ireland Dr William Murphy who is national medical director for the Irish Blood Transfusion service has set out the logical reasons why the rules need changing. They are:
The ban risks stigmatising individuals identified in this category and precludes the potential valuable addition of new infection-free donors.
Gay sexual activity within a stable partnership is safer than promiscuous sex of any description.
Only a small minority of gay men are at risk of contracting, and hence transmitting, HIV.
However, the campaign to have the ban lifted in the USA did not succeed. The ban by the US Food and Drug Administration is “unlikely to be lifted” because of “the risk of HIV, Hepatitis C and other infections being passed on through blood transfusions”.
For many gay men and lesbians, healthcare of a life enhancing quality remains a dream instead of a reality. Every human being on this planet has a right to appropriate and sufficient health care to preserve their life. Their sexuality or wealth has nothing to do with their right.
