A new report by TransActual has revealed the current experience of trans+ people with healthcare providers
BY BETHAN RUSH, IMAGE BY JUAN MOYANO
A recent investigation by TransActual found that 215 trans people surveyed had been refused HRT (hormone replacement therapy) in the last year.
They said in a statement: “This is not new, but merely continues a pattern of some GPs’s attempting to refuse support to trans people, despite the NHS’s duty to ensure the provision of trans healthcare.”
Nearly half of the people who had been refused HRT had already been on it for more than five years. Hormone therapy is used to help treat gender dysphoria and to make a person feel more comfortable in their body both physically and mentally as stated on the NHS website.
If a trans person’s HRT treatment is halted, some of the physical changes they will have experienced could start to reverse. This could only increase gender dysphoria and could impact their mental health.
TransActual’s results further showed that 14% of people who had had either an orchiectomy or oophorectomy who were refused their treatment could now face additional health implications, such as an increased risk of osteoporosis.
The report found that most people surveyed had previously been able to access a prescription from their GP and nearly half had been previously prescribed but now were refused.
So why is this happening? The reasons given by the GPs included “not feeling competent to prescribe”. The survey found that two respondents reported that they weren’t even given a reason for the refusal and that their GP “simply cancelled my repeat prescription without warning or explanation”.
The Equality Act 2010 protects trans people at all and any stage of social or medical transition, whether or not they have a Gender Recognition Certificate. If the treatment of a trans patient is found to be detrimental when compared to the treatment of someone who isn’t trans, the practice may risk being found to have breached the Act.
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