A month's wait for T

[Elis]

The only thing we can do is hope informed consent is available to more people to avoid gatekeeping (which seems to only have become more common in the US and nowhere else) and introduce free health care. I had to go to a private GIC to avoid the 13 month waiting list for my nearest NHS GIC. Fortunately going private I only had to wait 6 months for T; which is even much quicker going to any GIC in the UK. It shouldn't be like that. Then again each time I have to pick up my NHS prescription for T I am thankful how affordable it is and that even though the NHS is far from perfect; it's better than not having it.

[Kylo]

The only thing we can do is hope informed consent is available to more people to avoid gatekeeping (which seems to only have become more common in the US and nowhere else) and introduce free health care. I had to go to a private GIC to avoid the 13 month waiting list for my nearest NHS GIC. Fortunately going private I only had to wait 6 months for T; which is even much quicker going to any GIC in the UK. It shouldn't be like that. Then again each time I have to pick up my NHS prescription for T I am thankful how affordable it is and that even though the NHS is far from perfect; it's better than not having it.

Six months from your initial GIC consultation? I wonder how long I'll be waiting on the NHS for it. I've already waited 13 months to get the therapist to agree to refer me to the GIC doctor but now she claim it will be "a long time" before I get that appointment and that it'll be unpleasant somehow. She's not the best, tbh, vague as hell and seems to be telling me I'm in for something nasty next time I go in. Talk about encouraging.

[Elis]

Yeah; I was kinda lucky in that I was only required to have 4 therapy sessions and that my GP was willing to prescribe. I now have to wait 13 months to go to Charring Cross to get a referral for top surgery  Any chance you can got to a different GP? It's ridiculous how much gatekeeping is required if you live in Wales and how unknowedgable GPs are about what trans is.

[Kylo]

Yeah; I was kinda lucky in that I was only required to have 4 therapy sessions and that my GP was willing to prescribe. I now have to wait 13 months to go to Charring Cross to get a referral for top surgery  Any chance you can got to a different GP? It's ridiculous how much gatekeeping is required if you live in Wales and how unknowedgable GPs are about what trans is.

My local GP is cool about it; she's treated trans people in my area. I've no doubt she'll prescribe me what I need. It's just the GIC (Exeter) resident doctor/specialist I now have to convince, apparently, whom I've never met. If that goes OK then they'll just have my local GP do the prescribing. It feels like it's taking forever though... the wait is interminable. At this point all they have to do is ask me if I know what I'm getting into (yes) and write me a letter for the GP (yay) but I have no idea what "a long time" means. Sure hope they don't mean till October again before anything gets done. I'm starting to feel like I'm talking out my ass to people about transitioning... they are expecting me to have done or started treatment or something by now and still nothing... it doesn't feel like a confirmation yet that they'll actually treat me.