This year’s LGBTQ+ History Month theme of Medicine champions LGBTQ+ individuals within the fields of Medicine and Healthcare, to come together as one diverse and accepting community for all!


LGBTQ+ History Month is a month of events, observing lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer history, which helps raise awareness of some of the issues faced by the LGBTQ+ community. 

The month originated in the USA in 1994 to coincide with “National Coming Out Day” and was brought to the UK as part of the “Schools OUT UK” project, which aims to educate young people about the issues faced by the queer community. 

Every year, the month has a theme and for 2024 this is “Medicine- under the microscope”, focusing on the contribution in the world of medicine and healthcare by members of the LGBTQ+ community. 

London holds a vast array of varying events during this month, such as the “Gay Authors Workshop”, focusing on a new gay anthology “Lost Places”, as well as the “LGBTQ+ London History Tour”, which weaves through the streets of London’s West End, telling stories about the iconic people and places that have shaped London’s LGBTQ+ community, as well as London itself.

I was lucky enough to attend this year’s "LGBTQ+ London History Tour" which started at the Clearmont Hotel in Charing Cross, where we took in the Oscar Wilde statue, as a prominent gay figure in the Victorian Era. We then proceeded to the centre of London’s queer scene, Old Compton street, with its myriad of gay bars and clubs, most notably the historic “Admiral Duncan Pub”, one of the area’s oldest gay pubs, which opened in 1832, and which was subject to a neo-nazi homophobic terrorist attack in 1999, killing 3 people. Another highlight for me was visiting the infamous nightclub “Heaven”, a 1000 capacity basement venue which has played a central role and has had a major influence on London’s LGBTQ+ scene for over 40 years.

It was enormously moving to hear about the contributions and dedication of the LGBTQ+ community within the NHS; during the AIDS crisis and now during the COVID-19 pandemic, whilst still recognising the historical complexities and inequalities the LGBTQ+ community still face with regards healthcare access. 

This is a significant annual event that I find educational, moving and heart-warming. To see those of all backgrounds and lives coming together to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community is beautifully inspiring and heartening!