Equality and Discrimination 2024

Use of Health Services

In the 2024 survey, respondents were asked if they had experienced discrimination of any form in their use of the health services, in the two years prior to interview. They were asked about their experience of a range of health services including:

• Primary care such as GP, dentist, etc.
• Community care such as local public health nurse or local community care centre, etc.
• Access to hospital
• Access to specialist treatment

One in Nine (11%) Transgender/Non-Binary People Felt Discriminated Against in Access to GP, Dentist, etc.

Survey data analysis by gender identity shows that non-cisgender people were more likely to experience discrimination in their access to and use of health services. One in nine (11%) transgender/non-binary people felt that they were discriminated against in their access to/use of primary care health services such as GP, dentist, etc., almost three times the experience of discrimination of cisgender (binary) people (4%).

The disparity was even more apparent for access to/use of other health services. One in ten (10%) transgender/non-binary people said that they felt they were discriminated against in their access to/use of community care services such as local public health nurse or local community care, etc., compared with just 1% of cisgender people. A similar number (10%) had experienced discrimination in the previous two years in their access to specialist treatment, compared with just 2% of cisgender people. One in nine (11%) who identified as transgender/non-binary had experienced discrimination in their access to hospital, compared with just 2% of binary people (See Table 8.1).

People of Black Background Experienced More Discrimination than Other Ethnic Groups in Primary/Hospital Care

Analysis of the survey data by the respondents’ ethnicity, shows that people from a Black Irish/Black African/other Black background experienced most discrimination in accessing/using health services when compared with people of other ethnicity. Some 12% of people from a Black Irish/Black African/other Black background felt they were discriminated against in their access to/use of primary care health services such as GP care, dental care, etc., compared with just 3% of White Irish people. Similarly, one in ten (10%) of Black Irish/Black African/other Black background had felt discriminated against in their access to hospital care, compared with just 2% of White Irish people.

At an overall level, 3% of respondents aged 18 years and over felt they were discriminated against in access to/use of primary care such as GP, dentist, etc., while 2% had experienced discrimination in their access to hospitals, and a similar number in their access to specialist treatment. By comparison, in 2019, when the survey was last carried out, just 2% of respondents had experienced discrimination in their access to GP, hospital, specialist/other health services (the breakdown for 2024 is not available for 2019) (See Figure 8.1, Table 8.1 and Equality and Discrimination 2019).

Socio-Economic Background Most Common Grounds for Discrimination in Healthcare

Respondents who had experienced discrimination in the previous two years in their access to/use of health services including primary care (GP/dental/other services), community care and/or access to hospital and/or specialist care, were asked what they perceived as the grounds for such discrimination.

One’s socio-economic background such as address, accent, level of education, type of housing, employment status or any other similar circumstance etc. was cited as the most common ground for discrimination in health services (20%). In joint second place were the grounds of gender (gender identity, gender expression, sex characteristics, etc.), age, and disability, all at 18%.

One in nine (11%) respondents who had experienced such discrimination in healthcare, said they experienced this discrimination frequently, while for almost six in ten (58%), the perceived discrimination happened less often but had still occurred on a few occasions in the previous two years. One in ten (10%) said the discrimination had a very serious effect on their lives while almost one in four (23%) said that it had a serious impact on them (See Table 8.3).

Note: Respondents could choose more than one ground for discrimination.