About our training

At Opening Doors, we provide effective and cutting-edge training to equip health and social care providers with the skills and knowledge they need to provide the best possible care to LGBTQ+ people aged 50 and above.

Opening Doors has been providing training for over 10 years and our team of specialist trainers and facilitators all contribute their lived experience as older lesbian, gay, bi and trans people. Our training is endorsed by Skills For Care and satisfies the equalities requirements of local Clinical Commissioning Groups, the Care Quality Commission and other bodies responsible for overseeing the quality of health and social care provision.

From demystifying the ABCs of LGBTQ+ terms, to finding out the ‘correct’ words to use, we are passionate about equipping your team with the confidence and information needed to properly care for LGBTQ+ people. There is space to ask questions about specific scenarios, and to work through case studies in a group, meaning that when issues arise at work, it won’t be the first time you are approaching these sensitive topics in your mind.

At Opening Doors, we provide cutting edge training on issues of LGBTQ+ inclusion, which comes in the following tiers that can be delivered either in person or virtually:

Understanding the Needs of LGBTQ+ people over 50

Personalising Care for LGBTQ+ people over 50

Managing Services for LGBTQ+ people over 50

These sessions provide a thorough and up-to-date insight into the needs of a doubly vulnerable population and can be delivered at a cost of £300 per session to non-commercial clients, plus additional costs pre-agreed relating to travel if delivered in person.

We also deliver bespoke training on specific issues around things such as Gender, Trans Identities and Pronouns; Living with HIV; Living with Dementia as an Older LGBTQ+ Person, and so on.

For more info, read on or email [email protected].

Our Courses

Opening Doors is proud to present a suite of brand new, refreshed training courses, now available for booking. Our courses have been co-produced by older LGBTQ+ people, alongside experts in the health and social care sector, to produce content that is current, engaging, and exceptionally important for those working in this field.

Having this conversation across generations is vital to us here at Opening Doors, as we know that as LGBTQ+ people, we rely on each other at all ages.

(1) UNDERSTANDING THE NEEDS OF OLDER LGBTQ+ PEOPLE

The 2014 Care Act requires health and social care professionals to address the health and care support of older LGBTQ+ people by tailoring services to their individual needs. Many front-line staff say they still lack the knowledge, skills and confidence to do this effectively. This training for, will identify, explore and explain some thoughts, beliefs and issues that participants may encounter in relation to an older LGBTQ+ client group. This training led by LGBTQ+ people with a specialism in health and social care, will enable participants to feel more confident in engaging with and caring for older LGBTQ+ people.

From demystifying the ABCs of LGBTQ+ terms, to finding out the ‘correct’ words to use, our tier 1 training course is a vital introduction for all members of a team. Make sure your whole workforce is up to date with the law, terminology, and the basics of how to treat an older LGBTQ+ person with respect and dignity, and the care that is right for them.

We believe you can’t provide adequate care to LGBTQ+ people over 50 without the information in this session, and recommend it for everyone in an organisation.

(2) PERSONALISING CARE FOR OLDER LGBTQ+ PEOPLE

Providing health, housing and social care to older LGBTQ+ people who have previously experienced discrimination and/or harassment can pose challenges to professionals seeking to build relationships of trust with these marginalised and sometimes vulnerable individuals. This course, led by experienced LGBTQ+ trainers with a specialism in health and social care, enables participants to employ best practice in the provision care and support of older LGBTQ+ clients.

Our second tier of training looks a bit deeper into the sorts of experiences that LGBTQ+ people over 50 will have gone through over the past decades. Get up to scratch with this look at the ways in which the advancement of LGBTQ+ rights during the 20th century has affected the people who lived through it, and how this might affect their care needs, as well as the barriers to them accessing care.

The effect that recent history has had on LGBTQ+ people is a complex topic with a lot more to it than you might think. Recommended for anyone who is caring specifically for an LGBTQ+ person, working with an LGBTQ+ person living with Dementia or HIV / AIDS, or those working with any LGBTQ+ person who has experienced trauma.

In this session we spend some time thinking about how to provide truly person-centred care for LGBTQ+ people over 50.

(3) MANAGING SERVICE DELIVERY TO OLDER LGBTQ+ PEOPLE

Government and health and care sector regulators remain concerned that organisations are still not proactively engaging LGBTQ+ people or responding adequately to their different needs. This course uses the latest research to help managers identify key determinants of service quality which make a demonstrable difference to the lives of older LGBTQ+ people, including monitoring demographics, inclusive staff recruitment, organisational communications and staff bullying, discrimination, and harassment.

Our third tier of standard training is something we strongly recommend for all senior teams who come into contact with LGBTQ+ people over 50. This session is a chance to talk about best practice, and how to promote this across an organisation, as well as how to promote inclusion with those higher up decision makers. Refresh your knowledge of LGBTQ+ rights in and out of the workplace, and explore as a group the best ways to create a welcoming environment, from looking at your policies and how they are enacted, to your communications and what they are saying.

This session also includes time to work through in more detail your approach to any issues that may have arisen specifically in your workplace, discuss how to better implement inclusive policies, and how to promote inclusion from the top down.

To enquire about our courses, click here.

Who is it for?

Our public and bespoke in-house training is specifically designed for individuals and organisations within the health, housing and social care sectors.

Although our services are based in London, our training is available across the UK.

Why is it needed?

Stonewall research has identified that older LGBTQ+ people are a relatively vulnerable population with a lack of family support who rely more than their heterosexual peers on the support of their health and social care professionals.

Finding solutions: Opening Doors' public and bespoke training courses

Our training provides staff, managers and volunteers working in the health and social care sector with the knowledge and skills to provide quality care and support to older LGBTQ+ people, which enable them to live, healthy and independent lives, free from loneliness, isolation, prejudice and discrimination.

“Lots of different scenarios given and ideas on how better to support service-users and staff.”

“All information today has been helpful and informative –

the pack is filled with useful resources; excellent!”

“An absorbing LGBT+ experience.

A very felt sense of life experience made it very real and immediate.”

Why train with Opening Doors?

The courses we deliver are informed by the lived experience of our members - over 2,000 LGBTQ+ people aged 50+ - who contribute to our work throughout London and beyond. We offer a rolling programme of public training workshops which are open to all. Our bespoke in-house training is a smart way to meet the specific needs of organisations as well as proving highly cost-effective for groups of 20 and above.

Our team of trainers have over 30 years of practical experience delivering health and social care services to LGBTQ+ people. For more information, read about our trainers.

What about Pride in Care?

Here at Opening Doors, we don’t stop at delivering training. We know that to guarantee quality care for older LGBTQ+ people takes more than a few sessions of myth-busting and group exercises.

In our nationally recognised quality standard, Pride in Care, we take organisations through a guided assessment and series of recommendations that guarantee they are equipped, from top to bottom, with the tools needed to provide genuinely inclusive care to this population of older people.

Your organisation can gain the Pride in Care quality standard, which is endorsed by Care England and promoted by Skills for Care. It’s awarded to all organisations assessed as providing quality care and support to older LGBTQ+ people. This UK-recognised quality mark increases your organisation’s equality profile and provides independent recognition for the delivery of excellent services to older LGBTQ+ people.

Check out our Pride in Care brochure below or read more about our Pride in Care quality standard.

Download Pride in Care brochure

“It challenged my thinking and attitude to LGBT+.

Never done a training on LGBT+ before and have worked in social care for 40 years!”

“Lovely, open facilitators made me so comfortable speaking openly.

Trainer was amazing – there wasn’t a moment I wasn’t fully engaged.”

Where can I get more information?

We would love to talk to you about your training needs – it’s our passion! Please drop us an email at [email protected] for a copy of our brochure, which talks you through all the different elements in more detail.