Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust, which covers much of north west London and parts of the rest of south east England, has been rated the most gay-friendly healthcare organisation in England by gay rights organisation Stonewall. Their sexual health clinics include Mortimer Market centre, Archway Centre for Sexual Health and CLASH, based in Soho, central London, which provides free sexual health services for sex workers, homeless people, drug users and men who have sex with men.

The result is based on the Healthcare Equality Index, a tool for health providers to benchmark and track their progress on equality for their lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) patients, staff and communities.

Robyn Doran, CNWL Chief Operating Officer, said: ‘We’ve worked hard to create an inclusive and supportive environment for our lesbian, gay and bisexual patients and thanks to our staff and the support from Stonewall we have achieved this result.’

Chief Executive Claire Murdoch added: ‘This is great news. The NHS is for everyone so we specialise in providing care in modern ways, where it’s really needed and delivered with compassion. I am delighted to receive this recognition from Stonewall but the award belongs to our staff with my thanks.’

Stonewall praised the Trust for its efforts in helping to tackle health inequalities and delivering a 21st century health service accessible to everyone, regardless of sexual orientation.

The Trust’s engagement activities include

• a gay men’s therapy group for clients in substance misuse services

• an outreach service for men who have sex with men that offers Hepatitis B vaccinations and HIV point of care tests at ‘sex on premises’ venues. The service targets men who otherwise do not use sexual health services

• a Club Drug Clinic for adult clubbers and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transsexual people who have developed problems with recreational drugs.