To celebrate LGBT+ History Month, married couple Karen and Charlotte, who work at the Isle of Wight NHS Trust, are sharing their story and encouraging others to join the Trust’s LGBT+ Staff Equality Network.

For Karen, who is the Trust’s clinical team leader for the integrated mental health and learning disabilities liaison service, this is the first LGBT+ month she feels she has taken the time to engage with.

Karen said: “I joined the Network as it is important to do everything we can as a healthcare provider and employer to ensure policies, procedures and documentation do not exclude anyone.

“I came out as a gay woman in 1996 and remember being subjected to homophobic remarks (at a previous workplace).

"When I raised this with my line manager at the time I was told ‘you should have kept quiet about it.’

“In contrast, the Isle of Wight NHS Trust as an employer has been open and welcoming and there have been no barriers to our career paths."

Karen’s wife, Charlotte who works as the team leader for the Mental Health Support Team in Schools, sharing her story through Out On An Island, which is collating 100 years of LGBTQ+ oral histories of people who have a connection with the Island.

Charlotte said: “If I think back to when I started my professional career, I didn’t tell anyone on placement I was gay. People made derogatory comments, causing a level of anxiety when I eventually came out.

“It feels very different now — in 2005 the Civil Partnership Act was introduced and in 2011 an amendment was made to allow religious bodies to register same-sex civil partnerships.

"(Karen and I) had our Civil Partnership in 2013 in a Metropolitan Community Church.”

Deputy Director for Organisational Development and Inclusion, Ricky Somal, added: “LGBT+ History Month is a time for celebration and community.

“I value hearing Karen and Charlotte’s experience of working in our organisation, as well as the fantastic contribution they bring to the LGBT+ Equality Staff Network."