How does transition work under the NHS?

[lady amarant]

Okay, so all excited, nervous, anxious, happy, I go visit my NHS GP tonight after work. Hell, I'm not expecting much - I mean, I'm only in the UK on a working holiday, I've heard all the NHS horror stories, I know how little even professional health people know about GID, but I figure I can at least get some information, maybe a referral to a good therapist. I mean, after meeting the practice nurse, and how helpful and attentative and everything she was when I told her, I couldn't help but be hopeful.

So I walk into the doctor's office. We introduce ourselves, I have seat...

And disaster strikes. I ask the doctor if he's ever had any experience with GID. He stutters and stumbles a bit, says that he met somebody who had "the operation" once ... so I tell him, "Well doctor, I'm transsexual". Hey, I was nervous. I could probably have eased him into it better.

He looks at me like something the cat dragged in, tells me through pursed lips that the NHS doesn't do this sort of thing and that I'd have to do it privately. He continues with the most venomous "So what do you want?" I've come across in a long time.

Smoothing over, I start bringing up Charing Cross, and that even if I did go private, I'd still need a referral ... so he steamrollers over me and tells me that, if I want a referral out of him, I must go and find the details of the clinic or whatever I want to have do this, and he'd write me a referral. He then bid me a firm good-night and showed me out of his office. Total length of exchange: About two minutes.

So here's the question: Am I missing something here? As I understood it, the NHS does in fact deal with GID, and that you need a referral from your GP to access it. As I said, I wasn't expecting much, but I wasn't quite expecting what I got. I realise I should probably have had more information on hand, but I'm in a bit of a gray area myself - being a temporary citizen, I really don't know to what extent the NHS would be prepared to cover a "chronic" condition like GID. I wasn't really hoping for much more than counselling and maybe attending some groups at Charing Cross and such, plus the nurse immediately suggested that the doctor could get some bloodwork ordered, but the cold shoulder... well.

So, any advice? Observations? Criticism?

Thanks All

[lady amarant]

So are you wanted by the police now for jamming a ball-point pen through his non-existent heart?

Renate

Karma's got his number. Just ask Earl. 

Favourite Episode: Karma's trying to kill me. Maybe I could lend Karma a hand. Hmmmm...

[Pica Pica]

So, any advice? Observations? Criticism?

Before 2000 there was more allocated to GID, there has been a move to less. They'll probably want to therapise you a lot......As usual with the NHS, it's a postcode lottery.

[Willowitch]

Hiya

It seems that many people had had bad experiences with the NHS, myself included. You don't need a GP's referral to start the process privately, as you can just contact someone like Dr. Richard Curtis and make an appointment. http://www.transhealth.co.uk/gender_dysphoria_clinic.php. If you need to go down the NHS route you might want to look into the NHS policies and standards of care. Your GP should make an initial referral to Charing Cross, though I beleive their wating time is measured in years.

Good Luck

BB

Willow

[jenny_]

So here's the question: Am I missing something here? As I understood it, the NHS does in fact deal with GID, and that you need a referral from your GP to access it. As I said, I wasn't expecting much, but I wasn't quite expecting what I got. I realise I should probably have had more information on hand, but I'm in a bit of a gray area myself - being a temporary citizen, I really don't know to what extent the NHS would be prepared to cover a "chronic" condition like GID. I wasn't really hoping for much more than counselling and maybe attending some groups at Charing Cross and such, plus the nurse immediately suggested that the doctor could get some bloodwork ordered, but the cold shoulder... well.

So, any advice? Observations? Criticism?

Thanks All

in answer to the question, the NHS does deal with GID, though it can be difficult to get it and take a long time (ie years).

if you want to go the nhs route, you could try seeing a different gp, there are sympathetic gp's out there, and anyone would be better than that one you saw.  waiting lists seem to be different for everyone who uses the nhs, and depends where you live.  i managed to get an appointment at charing x 3 months after the referral, though it took 6 months before the PCT would allow the referrall...grrr.

you should be able to get counselling with a non-specialist on the nhs, but otherwise it'll take a long time for anything else, though there are more sympathetic gp's!

also if you go privately, some (like dr khoosal at leicester) still require a gp's referall.

good luck
jenny
x x

[Berliegh]

So here's the question: Am I missing something here? As I understood it, the NHS does in fact deal with GID, and that you need a referral from your GP to access it. As I said, I wasn't expecting much, but I wasn't quite expecting what I got. I realise I should probably have had more information on hand, but I'm in a bit of a gray area myself - being a temporary citizen, I really don't know to what extent the NHS would be prepared to cover a "chronic" condition like GID. I wasn't really hoping for much more than counselling and maybe attending some groups at Charing Cross and such, plus the nurse immediately suggested that the doctor could get some bloodwork ordered, but the cold shoulder... well.

So, any advice? Observations? Criticism?

Thanks All

in answer to the question, the NHS does deal with GID, though it can be difficult to get it and take a long time (ie years).

if you want to go the nhs route, you could try seeing a different gp, there are sympathetic gp's out there, and anyone would be better than that one you saw.  waiting lists seem to be different for everyone who uses the nhs, and depends where you live.  i managed to get an appointment at charing x 3 months after the referral, though it took 6 months before the PCT would allow the referrall...grrr.

you should be able to get counselling with a non-specialist on the nhs, but otherwise it'll take a long time for anything else, though there are more sympathetic gp's!

also if you go privately, some (like dr khoosal at leicester) still require a gp's referall.

good luck
jenny
x x

Try and avoid Charing Cross GIC at all costs. There are other much better NHS GIC clinics out there in the U.K. Sandyford and Leicester are more accessable and seem to be well respected.