The story so far: I got referred to a gender clinic, then I was told that there is no funding for FTM outside of London. I wrote to my MP about this ridiculousness, who contacted the department of health.

I received a letter from the department of health this morning, it basically says that there IS funding in my local area. It also says that there has been no correspondence from me to my local services, and therefore they don't understand how this misconception has arisen.

So they never received a letter from my GP? Why would my GP tell me there was no funding, if they think they can get rid of me that easily they have another thing coming.

That's outrageous!  Time to complain vociferously!  Good for you for following up on it - I bet your GP palmed you off and thought you'd never take it further.

Legalities and technicalities, all a pain in the ass. Sometimes the people you are working with are morons or sometimes they are just being lazy and don't want to deal with it.
Sorry, dude. Hope it all gets sorted out for ya.

Quote from: finewine on September 18, 2009, 05:32:44 AM
That's outrageous!  Time to complain vociferously!  Good for you for following up on it - I bet your GP palmed you off and thought you'd never take it further.

This, with an added.
Is there anyone you can report him to?

This doctor's surgery is beyond ->-bleeped-<-, I have to berate them for AGES when there's something wrong with me because they always fob me off like this.

It took me 6 months to get in here though so I can't switch out, everywhere is full.

The NHS is a joy ¬_¬

The NHS might be a pain to work with, but at least you have coverage...I'd gladly jump through flaming hoops blindfolded for the chance I wouldn't have to pay out of pocket.

But yeah, it sounds like your doc might just not have wanted to deal with it. Report that.

So I went back to my GP armed with my letter from the department of health and a bunch of other documents about treating transsexuals

he wouldn't entertain any of it, he wouldn't even look at them

he was incredibly patronising and pretty much called me a liar, kept interrupting me mid sentence saying "no no no that's wrong" while waving his arms at me

He kept babbling about there is no funding for surgery, and I repeated several hundred times that I wasn't asking for surgery, just hormones.

he then used the phrase "you can't just take some tablets and become a man"

I responded to this by saying it's testosterone injections I need, actually, and I would like a referral to an endocrinologist

he just kept babbling about surgery, and how apparently the "surgeon" I was referred to says there's no funding, no matter how many times I pointed out that I needed an endo, not a surgeon

I managed to get a look at the screen, the email he had was from a urologist. Why the hell was I referred to a urologist? No wonder they emailed back telling them I couldn't get treatment.

I'm so frustrated, I don't know what to do any more

Your doctors are uneducated and quacks. Get new ones ASAP.

There's got to be somewhere you can report him to.
Mind you I would have shouted "SHUT THE F UP AND LISTEN!" half way through that.

Jeatyn

You're entitled to see any doctor at the practice that you want to see, so you could always try and see a different doctor and see if they're more helpful. You don't have to give a reason, just make an appointment with someone else at the surgery.

If that's no good, you are entitled to change your GP practice without giving a reason. Even if all the other practices in the area are full you can change by contacting your local PCT and asking them to allocate you to a new surgery. Details of how to do this are here. There's also information there on how to complain about your GP if you feel like taking it further, though I'd recommend you move to a different GP before starting complaint procedures.

Whereabouts are you based btw? I might be able to point you in the direction of a trans-friendly GP if you're anywhere that I have mates or other contacts - feel free to PM me if you don't want to post the info.

Incidentally, it's also illegal in the UK for a PCT to have a blanket ban on funding trans related treatment, so your GP is talking out of his backside about that also. He may be confused in that you might have to go to London to receive treatment - i.e. to Charing Cross Gender Identity Clinic (aka CX) - but that doesn't mean there's no funding for patients from outside of London!

Also, there's no point in asking for a referral to an endo. If your PCT has the contract with CX then you'll have to see a local psych first who will then refer you to CX - you can't bypass that by getting a referral to an endo and just walk away with T in the UK I'm afraid.

If I can help at all, feel free to get in touch mate.

Whoooa, that's some straight up douchebaggery right there. I can't help but think a similar thing would happen with the last psychiatrist I saw if I stayed. They seem to just talk about surgery, never mind the hormones.

Sorry you're having such a hard time, I hope everything works out. Get something done about him, yeah?

I most definitely have to change GP's, these guys are ridiculous. I'm in Leicester if you happen to know of anywhere I can go.

I am seeing a shrink already, but they have given me the same crap with talking about surgery all the time and not fathoming the need for Testosterone. As if having a penis and a flat chest will make my entire outward appearance and voice suddenly male.

The gender clinic in my local hospital seems to deal with MTF only, from what I could find on the ol' google search. Which is a huge pain in the ass...so close...yet so far.

According to that link all the GP's in my area are accepting new patients, time to switch!

I'd still go and report him... there's GOT to be somwhere you can report him to.

Quote from: Miniar on September 24, 2009, 07:28:36 AM
I'd still go and report him... there's GOT to be somwhere you can report him to.

He's right!  Info here:  http://www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/1083.aspx?CategoryID=68&SubCategoryID=162

Of course, some have found that they "close ranks" as I don't believe that complaints are independently reviewed but it still may be worth a pop, even if the hassle of handling a complaint deters them from fobbing you off further in future.