Post by Ayla on Feb 23, 2016 15:23:46 GMT 8
A new BBC documentary has found that transgender people are having to wait up 18 months for an initial appointment, and three years for surgery.
The episode of BBC Inside Out North West, which was lead by transgender radio host Stephanie Hirst, has found that NHS waiting times are greatly exceeding the 18 week expected wait time. At one of the biggest London clinics, people are expected to wait “12 to 18 months” for an initial appointment.
Elsewhere, the programme has revealed that there are only seven clinics in the UK, meaning that people who want to transition in the North West must travel to do so.
In the documentary, Stephanie meets Ashleigh Talbot, a transgender woman who had to wait three years to receive hormone treatment. Despite living in Manchester, she had to travel to London for the treatment.
Ashleigh said: “I elected to go [to London] because actually I was told by the community mental health team that the waiting time for Leeds would be an additional three years.”
Speaking about her own experiences, Stephanie added: “I was aware from my own experience that waiting lists were high, but to hear stories from others about having to wait up to three or four years for their initial appointment was heartbreaking.”
Will Huxter, who is the Chair of NHS England’s Gender Identity Task and Finish Group, said that the reason for the delays is that there haven’t been enough trained staff in the country.
However, he confirmed that this was about to change. He said: “The NHS has put additional funding into gender identity services for the last two years and will continue to do so. We recognise the urgent need to bring down waiting times, and to this end we have met with all the gender identity clinics to agree plans to increase capacity from April 2016.”
www.gaytimes.co.uk/news/28393/transgender-people-have-to-three-years-for-surgery/
The episode of BBC Inside Out North West, which was lead by transgender radio host Stephanie Hirst, has found that NHS waiting times are greatly exceeding the 18 week expected wait time. At one of the biggest London clinics, people are expected to wait “12 to 18 months” for an initial appointment.
Elsewhere, the programme has revealed that there are only seven clinics in the UK, meaning that people who want to transition in the North West must travel to do so.
In the documentary, Stephanie meets Ashleigh Talbot, a transgender woman who had to wait three years to receive hormone treatment. Despite living in Manchester, she had to travel to London for the treatment.
Ashleigh said: “I elected to go [to London] because actually I was told by the community mental health team that the waiting time for Leeds would be an additional three years.”
Speaking about her own experiences, Stephanie added: “I was aware from my own experience that waiting lists were high, but to hear stories from others about having to wait up to three or four years for their initial appointment was heartbreaking.”
Will Huxter, who is the Chair of NHS England’s Gender Identity Task and Finish Group, said that the reason for the delays is that there haven’t been enough trained staff in the country.
However, he confirmed that this was about to change. He said: “The NHS has put additional funding into gender identity services for the last two years and will continue to do so. We recognise the urgent need to bring down waiting times, and to this end we have met with all the gender identity clinics to agree plans to increase capacity from April 2016.”
www.gaytimes.co.uk/news/28393/transgender-people-have-to-three-years-for-surgery/