Latest news with #CorkPride2025
Irish Examiner
01-08-2025
- Health
- Irish Examiner
Health workers see inclusion as central to caring for patients
Training to raise awareness of diversity and inclusion among medical workers is boosting the quality of services being delivered to patients, says Dr Suzanne Crowe, president of the Medical Council. Dr Crowe, who works in paediatric intensive care, says that an inclusive medical workforce leads to greater understanding of patients' needs, culturally competent care, and ultimately, better health outcomes for patients. Speaking during Cork Pride 2025, which runs from July 26 to August 3, Dr Crowe says that she welcomes Pride events, which allow us to pause and reflect on the importance of accepting people for who they are. In this Q&A interview, Dr Crowe outlines some of the areas in which Irish health service providers have been very positive in ensuring diversity and inclusion in how patients are cared for, while also highlighting a number of areas where further improvements would be beneficial, notably further supports to help doctors with a disability to carry out their work effectively. Does the Irish medical profession see itself as actively diverse and inclusive? I think the medical profession does see itself as diverse, and increasingly inclusive. Medicine as a profession welcomes people from all walks of life, and there is increasing diversity in terms of gender and sexuality, so I would see it as being inclusive in this sense. In my opinion, we've made a lot of progress over the last couple of decades in certain areas, particularly in diversity of ethnic backgrounds, as well as from a gender balance point of view. The profession is increasingly seeing equal numbers of men and women working in medicine, in fact, we're seeing a shift towards it being more female-dominated in some specialisms. Our most recent (2024) Medical Workforce Intelligence data shows that the gender split among GPs in Ireland had slightly more females (52.4%) than males (47.6%). The majority of female GPs are between the ages 30 and 59, and older age brackets from there and above are dominated by males. This suggests that as older male GPs retire, the proportion of females in general practice will continue to grow. As well as this, in 2024 our clinically active medical workforce consisted of 13.8% of doctors who qualified in the EU/UK, and 27.8% who qualified outside of Ireland, the EU and the UK — meaning that 41.6% of our medical workforce qualified outside of Ireland. Without these doctors, our health system would collapse immediately. An area that could be improved upon is for doctors with a disability. Further supports should be put in place for doctors with a disability to carry out their work effectively. Overall, the profession does regard itself as diverse and inclusive. In what ways does the sector's openness help with attracting and retaining talent? The healthcare sector is very active in attracting talent, both in Ireland and abroad. Doctors are united as protectors of health — of the individual, and the community; and Ireland is now seen as an open, democratic, and progressive society to live in. That's why a career in medicine in Ireland can be rewarding for those who have experienced trauma or marginalisation for their beliefs, and are seeking to contribute to an inclusive, modern society. While openness brings many benefits to medicine, it's worth noting areas that still need attention, such as long working hours, working environment, and conditions. We may be attracting talent, but need to ensure we're retaining our workforce in Ireland by providing a sustainable environment to work in. Do you believe there is a link between having a diverse workforce and safer patient outcomes? I believe there is. As doctors, we should ensure that we advocate for trust, partnership and informed consent in our relationships with patients. The Medical Council carried out research in 2023, which showed that 80% of people feel it is important to be treated as a partner in their healthcare by their doctor. What this essentially means is that patients want their doctor to be approachable — someone they can bring personal concerns to. This same survey showed that people in Ireland believe that the elderly (57%), members of the travelling community (34%), refugees (33%) and immigrants (32%) are among the minority groups most at risk of receiving substandard care. Members of minority groups have unique healthcare needs and may find it easier to speak to a doctor who comes from a similar background. If the patient can relate to their doctor, they'll feel understood, in a safe space, and like their care will be approached in a non-judgemental way. This helps patients feel safe in communicating with their doctor, which helps the doctor to personalise their treatment plan and direct it to specific issues. It can help the patient to follow their plan when there's a good relationship. All these elements combined help to enhance patient care and improve patient safety. Does training help promote a more actively diverse and inclusive approach to recruitment? Training our future workforce at an early stage to have an open, empathetic approach to people of different backgrounds helps ensure that Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I) awareness is already part of their understanding when they start work. Discrimination and lack of understanding can impede the path to compassionate healthcare. Bringing DE&I awareness to students throughout the lifecycle of the doctor from school into undergraduate and postgraduate education; will help doctors to address potential biases. Not only do they then have the awareness, correct language, and training about DE&I, but they'll eventually look to recruit that diversity into their own teams, because they know it'll increase inclusion, produce better working environments, and ultimately enhance patient care when treating patients of different backgrounds. Celebrating Pride also provides chances to educate and to learn, promote awareness and increase understanding of issues faced by the LGBTQI+ community. We saw a great turnout of doctors and healthcare workers from the HSE and LGBT Ireland for the Dublin Pride Parade a couple of weeks ago, and I have no doubt the representation will be strong for Cork Pride as well. LGBT Ireland's LGBT+ Champions programme is available to doctors and healthcare professionals to help understand the identities and advocate for their LGBTQI+ patients. These are provided by LGBT Ireland, the HSE, post graduate training bodies, universities, advocacy groups and charities.
Irish Examiner
27-07-2025
- Health
- Irish Examiner
'It was a very frightening time': Cork gay activist on Aids and preparing for Pride
Arthur Leahy will never forget the 'balloon-like' figure standing in the hospital doorway as he held the hand of a man dying from Aids. The junior doctor buried beneath multiple layers of protective clothing was clearly terrified but it offered Arthur a moment of light relief during what was a very dark time for Ireland's gay community. 'He had so much protective gear on that he looked like a giant balloon,' Arthur said. 'People were so frightened they would catch the disease.' Trailblazer Arthur had founded the inclusive space in Cork City known as the Quay Co-op back in 1982. The business continues to operate to this day as a vegetarian restaurant and health food store. It opened three years after the activist made television history with an RTÉ interview as Cork's first openly gay man. He, along with his Australian partner at the time, Laurie, provided an insight into life at the time for a gay couple. At the time, the country was pockmarked by homophobia, shockingly highlighted by the death of Declan Flynn who was beaten to death by a gang of teenagers in 1982. Arthur Leahy says the onset of the Aids epidemic 'was a torturous situation for families.' Picture: Jim Coughlan News of his perpetrators walking free from court with suspended sentences rocked the country. One of the attackers was just 14 at the time and could not to be named for legal reasons. The miscarriage of justice sparked a protest 11 days later that inspired the first Dublin Pride parade that June. Nonetheless, gay people remained extremely vulnerable, with homosexuality in Ireland not decriminalised until 1993. However, the threat of homophobic abuse wasn't enough to keep Arthur from the grim task of helping Aids victims to die with dignity. He was a founding member of Gay Health Action and Cairde which were established respectively to address HIV and Aids and provide hands-on support to patients. 'During that time it took over our lives.' The six houses in Cork Arthur co-founded to support those impacted by the Aids epidemic is among his proudest achievements. Years on, as we approach Cork Pride 2025 - which takes place from July 26 to August 3 - Arthur is pleading with people not to forget what people went through. Colour and celebration at last year's Cork Pride. 'If you're part of the gay community now, you get the sense that it never happened,' said Arthur, who turns 80 in November. 'There is a kind of denial there and not a lot of awareness and recognition around what people went through. People can take a drug for it now so there is no big drama about it. However, during the time we are talking about it was terminal.' Arthur recalls supporting Aids patients in hospitals. 'I remember being in the hospital with one person who was actually dying at the time. I was sitting by his bed and holding his hand. The junior doctor came in but we couldn't see him. His clothes looked like they had been blown up like a balloon because he had so many protective coverings on. "That was just the way it was. It was a very frightening time for people. It took me by surprise how I dealt with it, because I was able to transcend the horrors of it all. I dealt with it in such way that I didn't have to live with the trauma.' Mr Leahy recalled why some members of the gay community had little faith in medical professionals. 'In those days, on the medical front at least, it was the predominant view that gay people were mentally ill. It was something you just kind of accepted at the time. "There was one man named Jack Coughlan who dealt with venereal diseases in Cork and he was very progressive but a lot of others were very repressive and conservative.' He said that families were often in denial about the cause of a loved one's death. 'It was a torturous situation for families. In the beginning they didn't want to know but love usually took over towards the end. Sometimes, the control of families was very negative. It was at that point that we were pushed out of the situation. "They wanted to deal with it in a conventional way. That's where you're kind of pushed out of this situation. The Irish solution was denial at all costs.' He recalls how a number of Irish people impacted by Aids had returned from the UK to die. 'The great majority of Irish people with Aids were in London. If you looked in any hospital about half of the people there with Aids were Irish. "The houses we had in Cork were paid for by the Health Board. They helped with funding but the situation wasn't acknowledged. There were some people from the Health Board who were outstanding but they weren't supported by the establishment.' The same, Arthur recalled, could be said for the Church. There were individuals within the Catholic community who were enormously supportive and very courageous but the establishment of the Church was very negative. It was, and still is, to a great extent, in terms of all these issues. The trailblazer said he has lived a very privileged life in comparison to many others. 'I've been very lucky in life. My life is very privileged. I don't feel like I've suffered or done anything particularly brave. I think about the challenges that people are facing around the world right now. They are really enormous. "We all know what is happening. I've spent a lot of time in Gaza and in the Middle East in the last number of years so I think about their struggles all the time.' (Left to right) Cork Drag Queens Liam Bee and Lucina Schynning at Cork Pride 2024. Arthur said that while Ireland has progressed beyond recognition, other parts of the world remain in a time warp. 'The change in Ireland is remarkable. It's hard to believe the extent of the change that has taken place. However, if you look around the world there is very little change. On the contrary, we are seeing things go backwards. "We tend not to recognise in a sense how lucky we are. So many changes have taken place, not just with the gay issue but with regard to other issues too.'
