'I knew the process was going to be slow. I wasn't wrong'
The journey to gender reassignment has felt like an endurance test, more so than necessary to prove my 'commitment'
* Juliet Jacques
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guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 9 March 2011 09.00 GMT
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/mar/09/transgender-journeyI knew at the start that the NHS gender reassignment process would be slow. I wasn't wrong. At the time of writing, it's been a year and 11 months since I saw my GP and asked to enter the pathway. Since then, I have had two local psychiatric assessments and three appointments with the Gender Identity Clinic at West London Mental Health Trust which have totalled just three hours.
On my third GIC visit, I was told I had spent enough time living and working in my desired gender to be eligible for surgery, and that "we would be talking about it" if only my hormone levels were sufficient. NHS protocol dictates that transsexual women must live as female for at least three months before starting hormone therapy. As I began my 'Real Life Experience' ahead of my initial local assessment, I'd met this requirement, and confronted many of the social challenges posed by transition, even before my first trip to west London.
