Ontario to make referrals for SRS easier as wait list nears 1,200
http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/ontario-to-make-referrals-for-sex-reassignment-surgery-easier-as-wait-list-nears-1200 (http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/ontario-to-make-referrals-for-sex-reassignment-surgery-easier-as-wait-list-nears-1200)
National Post, by Ashley Csanady | November 6, 2015
"With almost 1,200 people on a wait list just for a referral, Ontario plans to dramatically expand the referral process for sex reassignment surgery for trans persons.
The surgery is for some — but not all — trans people who want to change the sex they were born to match the gender with which they identify. The province pledged in June to expand ways to access the procedures after the wait list at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) in Toronto grew to 960. The backlog at CAMH's Gender Identity Clinic is now 1,160 people long and climbing by about 100 names a month. It's currently the only place trans people can be referred for surgery, which means people being assessed now have already been waiting two years and those adding their names face even longer delays.
That's why Health Minister Eric Hoskins announced Friday the province will soon allow all qualified health-care professionals to refer patients for surgery. That means anyone who undergoes a specific training, already provided to 600 practitioners by Rainbow Health Ontario in Toronto, will be allowed to refer patients for surgery."
(Please note: The video player embedded in the article page defaults to zero sound volume for some reason - you'll have to immediately adjust it in the player's controls if you wish to hear it since it auto-plays the video when the page loads. ~Violet)