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As the patient populations continue to diversify, Vanessa Healsip and Claire Nadaf explore the health inequalities that certain patient groups are experiencing. For practice nurses, cultural competence is a key skill in improving healthcare for all patients General practice is becoming increasingly diverse due to a changing patient base and political climate, which impacts on the practice nurse's role. Over the past decade, there has been an increase in the number of foreign-born individuals living in the UK, the number of individuals identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBQT+) as well as the number of people living with a long-term health condition or disability. All of these groups experience greater health inequalities, despite increasing political drives in the UK and internationally to address this. Practice nurses are ideally placed to address health inequalities by facilitating health access for diverse groups; however, in order to do this they have to recognise and respond to the cultural values of the patient they are working with.

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