Charring Cross GIC Appointment

[tesseract49]

Hi everyone . I was referred directly to the Charing cross GIC by my GP. It was about 4 weeks ago. Am I supposed to recieve a letter from them or something? Do they atleast contact you to inform you of your appointment. Thanks xxx

[mrs izzy]

Congrats and hope that your wait time will be short.

[Erin.LE]

Yes, on the NHS you will eventually receive a letter detailing your appointment time. From experience, this is normally received about two months or so before your appointment. You can also call up to ask how the progress is if you are feeling impatient! Then again, if you are NHS, you will need lots and lots of patience unfortunately! ^_^

Congratulations on the referral though! First few steps!

[tesseract49]

Thanks so much. I guess I should phone them to find out about the progress. Not to seem rude or anything but I feel a bit agitated by the waiting time. I have male patter n baldness which is getting worse and althoufh I could buy finestride on prescription it costs too much for me to afford.

[mfox]

I was also referred to Charing Cross (CX) at first.  It seems like the only default option GPs know about.  That might be one reason the waiting list at CX is about a year for the first appointment:

http://www.wlmht.nhs.uk/gi/gender-identity-clinic/about-the-clinic/frequently-asked-questions/

I waited about 2 months and never heard anything, not even a "you're in the queue".  One I learned about their long waiting list, I chose a different GIC and gave my GP the details for a new referral.  Then, I only had to wait 6 weeks before I was sitting in the new GIC for my first appointment.

Hopefully CX is working on a plan to reduce their waiting times.  The maximum wait should be 18 weeks:

http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2015/02/20/nhs-england-trans-people-shouldnt-wait-longer-than-18-weeks-for-treatment/

You might have to see your GP again to check on the referral or ask to be sent to a different GIC if you're willing to travel like I was.

I have male pattern baldness which is getting worse and althoufh I could buy finestride on prescription it costs too much for me to afford.

If you can convince your GP to prescribe the larger dose of Finasteride (Proscar) instead of the low dose (Propecia), the cost savings is HUGE.  About £5/month for generic Proscar, versus £40 or so for Propecia.

[tesseract49]

Thanks so much. Are you saying that I could be precribed finestride on the NHS? I have only tried to buy kn online pharmacies that have an online questionaire to get the prescription. It costs about £50 per month.

[mfox]

Thanks so much. Are you saying that I could be precribed finestride on the NHS? I have only tried to buy kn online pharmacies that have an online questionaire to get the prescription. It costs about £50 per month.

Well, my NHS GP writes it as a private prescription.  But the reality is, at Superdrug, the cost is less than the NHS prescription cost of £7.    Those online pharmacies will only prescribe the low dose (expensive and patented) version I think.

[Erin.LE]

Thanks so much. I guess I should phone them to find out about the progress. Not to seem rude or anything but I feel a bit agitated by the waiting time. I have male patter n baldness which is getting worse and althoufh I could buy finestride on prescription it costs too much for me to afford.

You should be able to go to your GP and get started on Finasteride for male pattern baldness. The last I heard is that the effect of larger Finasteride doses is quite similar to being on cyrproterone and estrogen with respect to hair on the head.

The maximum wait should be 18 weeks:

If only! I waited 14 months for my first appointed :|

[Oneal]

I was also referred to Charing Cross (CX) at first.  It seems like the only default option GPs know about.  That might be one reason the waiting list at CX is about a year for the first appointment:

http://www.wlmht.nhs.uk/gi/gender-identity-clinic/about-the-clinic/frequently-asked-questions/

I waited about 2 months and never heard anything, not even a "you're in the queue".  One I learned about their long waiting list, I chose a different GIC and gave my GP the details for a new referral.  Then, I only had to wait 6 weeks before I was sitting in the new GIC for my first appointment.

Hopefully CX is working on a plan to reduce their waiting times.  The maximum wait should be 18 weeks:

http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2015/02/20/nhs-england-trans-people-shouldnt-wait-longer-than-18-weeks-for-treatment/

You might have to see your GP again to check on the referral or ask to be sent to a different GIC if you're willing to travel like I was.

If you can convince your GP to prescribe the larger dose of Finasteride (Proscar) instead of the low dose (Propecia), the cost savings is HUGE.  About £5/month for generic Proscar, versus £40 or so for Propecia.

Sorry to barge in on the thread. I have also recently been refered to the Charring Cross GIC a number of weeks ago. You mentioned that you decided to travel and go else where? Where did you go in the end?

Thank you

[big kim]

I was referred to Charing Cross in October 1989,my appointment finally came in May 1991!

[mfox]

Sorry to barge in on the thread. I have also recently been refered to the Charring Cross GIC a number of weeks ago. You mentioned that you decided to travel and go else where? Where did you go in the end?

I don't wanna bias anyone too badly, but you can see the waiting times here:  http://uktrans.info/waitingtimes

So I would recommend which ever one is most practical to you outside of London.  Note that the one in Norwich was closed.

[firestarter]

I was referred at the very end of March 2014, the NHS funding ran out about 2 months or so ago, and up to that point they had given out appointments to those referred before the 1st of April 2014. My appointment should be one of the first in the new financial year. Apparently thy are the busiest GIC in the world. If your in a rush, I would strongly suggest that you look at travelling further afield, maybe Bristol, or Scotland, apparently you only wait weeks.
In hindsight, after suffering at the mercy of the clerical staff [glorified, meglomatic receptionists]of the actual clinic, who will, and who love to "F**K" you around, that's what I should of done. Lord knows how many desperate girls must of given up on living after dealing with these inhuman bastards. When you finally do get and go to your appointment, apparently they try to make you jump through hoops and........well I could go on, but there is some really useful info in a thread written on Feb 26th 2015 on tgboards, called "NAVIGATING MEDICAL TRANSITION FOR TRANS WOMEN in the UK". At the moment its on page 3 of the transition page. Its a fun read, and gives you a real heads up on everything that you need to know, and how to prepare for your appointment. It is a "must read" for anyone going to that particular GIC.

[mfox]

I hope the horror stories about CX are just due to their high volume of patients and strain of providing for them.  There are bound to be a higher number of people who've had bad experiences, and people are less eager to share OK experiences.  But after all it's a giant city.  I wouldn't expect to be treated very well as a person anywhere there, compared to less crowded towns or cities.

I had read the "guide" going into my (non-CX) GIC appointment, and expected the worst, but everyone was brilliant and I was treated respectfully as female.

[CollieLass]

Patients on waiting list for a first appointment at end of month {CX}: 1514

Good Lord!!!!!! 

Those poor souls.

[CB]

but there is some really useful info in a thread written on Feb 26th 2015 on tgboards, called "NAVIGATING MEDICAL TRANSITION FOR TRANS WOMEN in the UK". At the moment its on page 3 of the transition page. Its a fun read, and gives you a real heads up on everything that you need to know, and how to prepare for your appointment. It is a "must read" for anyone going to that particular GIC.

I just read this and advise extreme caution.
While there are some valid points, e.g. what to say/not say during a psych evaluation there's a lot of negative and erroneous information and more disturbing is the overly negative attitude. I mean even the name change info is inaccurate, even implying that a Statutory Declaration isn't valid when it's now days more common than a Deed Poll. I could go on....
Please don't let this article depress you, do your own research!   

I had read the "guide" going into my (non-CX) GIC appointment, and expected the worst, but everyone was brilliant and I was treated respectfully as female.

I agree everyone was very nice there. CX gets a bad rap which is uncalled for.

[tesseract49]

If I am on Job Seeker's Allowance, does that allow me to get free medications. If so, would finasteride be free or discounted?

[Erin.LE]

Apparently thy are the busiest GIC in the world. If your in a rush, I would strongly suggest that you look at travelling further afield, maybe Bristol, or Scotland, apparently you only wait weeks.

My 14 month wait was for Sandyford which is in Scotland. It really isn't that much quicker. A friend is waiting around 7-8 months for the Lothian GIC. The biggest advantage to using the Scottish services is self-referral. Not sure if the rest of the UK has that yet!

[big kim]

If I am on Job Seeker's Allowance, does that allow me to get free medications. If so, would finasteride be free or discounted?

I got free prescriptions when on JSA

[Beverly]

Its a fun read, and gives you a real heads up on everything that you need to know, and how to prepare for your appointment. It is a "must read" for anyone going to that particular GIC.

You must have a different definition of fun because to me it seems little more than a rant by a very bitter person. Phrases like "Remember: even if they recommend HRT, they are still c**ts and not worthy of your respect " or "They will spend 45 minutes to an hour chatting about the most irrelevant nonsense and at the end of it they won't even do anything for you " should be pointers as to how seriously this "document" should be taken.

If the person that wrote that went into their appointments with that sort of attitude then I am not surprised that they had trouble with "the system".

With one exception, all the transitioners I know went through nothing like this. The big problem with the UK service is funding which means delay, but the clinicians do a good job.

[Rachel]

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