After my conversation with doctors on the 11/03/21, I’ve come to the conclusion that either my Doctor has forgot about me, I am not worthy of their time or their hands are tied somewhere along the lines and can’t help me.
Over a month ago I had a conversation with them about using private services, going private, and the Doctor I spoke to at my surgery said to me that they wouldn’t help or rather didn’t want me to use the services I mentioned and would rather I use the NHS Gender Identity Clinic.
We discussed the waiting times for this service and also the 18 weeks Pathway to Services policy Apparently this NHS promise doesn’t seem to apply to Gender Identity Clinic services, so my doctors said they would look at alternatives and then come back to me in a week or two with either an alternative or to discuss this further.
This was after another doctor at the same practice has said they couldn’t see a problem with helping if I went private.
One says one thing, one says another! Gah!
Apparently my choice of service is not acceptable to the doctor’s practise but this doesn’t make it okay for the NHS to dismiss it, even though it is my choice to pay for these services. Their non alternative of me waiting 44 months is perfectly fine for them it seems!
When discussing this the Doctors surgery even stated that the owners of one of the services I wanted to use had been “struck off” by the General Medical Council because one of their patients killed themselves. **
Not exactly true, the owners were suspended, and in doing so the GMC plunged some 1600 of their clients into a world of non-prescription issues by doing this. Yes, the General Medical Council left 1600 people without medication in a heart beat! – See more: GMC once again fails to protect the safety of trans patients
The past month has just confirmed to me that again the NHS either don’t care about Transgender people or aren’t making things simple and in doing so, I feel the NHS has let me down. Their mantra is, yes we have a policy which says 18 weeks but gender identity services don’t apply so you will have to wait, and wait a very long time.
Add to this, my doctors do not seem to have the professional courtesy (I’m sure their really busy) to return calls to their clients and I question how much they value the lives, illnesses, and/or conditions of their clients.
This, by the way, its not the first time this surgery has not returned my calls, see this article regarding my gender clinic referral. If I hadn’t intervened in this matter then my referral would more than likely have lapsed.
Now its a month later, 15/04/2021, and I’ve heard nothing other than a text a week later, 18/03/21, to say she would contact me within a week. that’s 4 weeks ago.
Am I being impatient? No. I am thinking about me and that’s why I’ve still proceeded down the private road alone.
I know what you’re thinking and, yes I have called the surgery to ask about what’s going on and I’m told that, “Its being looked into!” but, still nothing, so I question what’s being looked into? “You’ll have to wait”. Sigh!
This has truly felt like I am banging my head against a brick wall and that either my doctors hands are tied or they didn’t want to help in this scenario. Its almost like if they ignore me for long enough, I’ll go away!
Now, because of this, I am now embarking on a purely private journey and I won’t involve my GP’s or the NHS again other than to facilitate any private services.
I am also now seeking an alternative doctor’s surgery. I have no confidence in my current Doctor’s surgery which is a shame as one of the doctors I’ve been dealing with has been a joy to talk to.
If you know of any trans-friendly doctors’ surgeries in the East Cheshire/North Staffs area, then let me know.
To say I am disappointed in the surgery would be an under statement but alas the practice in general is lacking and the common mantra seems to be “we are dealing with covid!”
Onwards and upwards in my life and on to better things. I won’t let “gatekeepers” stop me moving forward and if a gate is locked I will seek an alternative gatekeeper or even an alternative gate.
** The circumstances surrounding the death of this person are awful and they resorted to Gender GP after years of mis-management and mis-treatment under the NHS. However, everyone points the finger of fault of the Gender GP. No one seems to understand that because after years of neglect by the NHS, this person was desperate to get help from other parties. Then suddenly its the third parties fault. Maybe if the NHS was better this wouldn’t have happened? I’d point a finger in the direction of the NHS but of the articles i’ve read in the national press paint the NHS as whiter than white and private gender clinics get a battering in the press at large.
Update: 1st May and I am still waiting on a call back from.said doctors.
