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Should trans people be allowed to receive free reassignment surgery on the NHS?

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NO.
I don't think any elective surgery should be completely free. *However, I can see how it might be a better use of funds to give elective surgery to someone who can then go on to work and pay it back through taxation, than to operate on a really sick patient who only has a few weeks or months left to live anyway. *
Reply 22
Avatar for S1939
S1939
8
Original post by zippyRN
1. define preferential treatment , especially as the GICs currently fall far outside the 18 week standard

2. provide evidence of any GRS procedure meaning that someone who required life or limb saving surgery was unable to have that treatment ...

3. your arguement is facile and is over simplified and ignores the reality of health economics.



'The cost of gender reassignment is £19,236 per patient, including support as well as surgery. The total cost to the NHS in England last year was £17.13 million and this year the budget has been increased to £22.72 million. But it's still not enough, according to the country's leading trans support group. '

The NHS doesn't even have a chicken pox vaccination program
http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/cambridgeshire-mum-launches-petition-for-nhs-chicken-pox-jab-after-son-has-worst-case-ever-seen/story-29573543-detail/story.html
Original post by S1939
'The cost of gender reassignment is £19,236 per patient, including support as well as surgery. The total cost to the NHS in England last year was £17.13 million and this year the budget has been increased to £22.72 million. But it's still not enough, according to the country's leading trans support group. '

The NHS doesn't even have a chicken pox vaccination program
http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/cambridgeshire-mum-launches-petition-for-nhs-chicken-pox-jab-after-son-has-worst-case-ever-seen/story-29573543-detail/story.html


answer the question rather resorting to tabloid hyperbole please.
Original post by stephenb1608
Agreed


you've obviously not read the WPATH guidlines or the NHS pathway then have you ... psychological / psychiatric assessments and intervention where clinically justified are part ofthe Standard of Care ...
It already exists on the nhs? Wait what.
the cash sum spent on the GICs and GRS by the NHS is change down the back of sofa in terms of the NHS budget and i'd be interested to see any evidence that GRS has prevented someone who needed life or limb saving surgery from being operated on in a timely manner ( especially given the locations of units that perform GRS )
Original post by Ribbit1234
It already exists on the nhs? Wait what.


go away and do some reading then ...

http://www.nhs.uk/LiveWell/Transhealth/Pages/Transhealthhome.aspx

then come back with any questions you have rather than jumping to spouting rubbish like some of the other posters
no I personally think there are more pressing issues to deal with
Original post by neal95
no I personally think there are more pressing issues to deal with


like what ? and disregarding the costs that not providing treatment will incur to the health service ?

the entire annual budget for NHS gender services could be eaten up by a couple of high value personal injury cases such as might occur following a failed suicide attempt ...
A waste of tax money. Things like this should never be free.
Original post by Fizzel
They need treatment, as rates of depression and suicide are high. You've basically got one option of treating a mental illness for years, and with poor results. The other option is surgery which has far better results and can provide a satisfactory result for the patient in much shorter timescale.

Its expensive but the cost of alcohol and people eating themselves to a state of near immobilisation are far more with a patient's control and far more expensive. Any keyboard-accountants should be taking aim at those areas first.

When you consider annual population increase, and the fact trans people are 0.3% of that, as a cost saving measure its pretty pathetic in a £120bn budget.

great point
Reply 32
Avatar for Ezme39
Ezme39
19
Original post by biglad2k16
I know it already exists on the Nhs but is it appropriate or is it a waste of money?


Of course they should. It is not purely cosmetic.
Suicide rates are highest in those who are pre transition. It causes people huge amounts of stress and upset to develop a body that is not theirs. Denying them treatment is not just a choice, it's cruel.
Gender dysmorphia is a condition.
It's not a choice to be trans, if it were then I would agree that it is cosmetic- but it is not.
I really think you need to do some research on what is and isn't provided by the NHS .

in certain circumstances breast augmentation is provided by the NHS , and breast reduction is provided by the NHS if the relevant clinical criteria are met.
Reply 34
Avatar for Whomp
Whomp
15
But then again people believe it's their right to smoke their lives away and expect the tax payer to pay for it on the NHS why shouldn't trans people have the same right to treatment to change their physical gender?
As for calling it a disorder? That's like saying religion or education is a disorder, it's blatantly trans-phobic and wrong. It's people who can't accept people who are different who have disorders.
(edited 7 years ago)
Reply 35
Avatar for kpwxx
kpwxx
20
Not even touching on the gender reassignment surgery itself, I'm shocked at the number of people who seem to think only directly life threatening (ignoring mental health consequences which could lead to suicide) treatment should be provided on the NHS.

I had a heart operation because of Supraventricular Tachycardia. It wasn't going to kill me if I didn't have it, just disrupt my life, should it not be available? What about someone with a limb missing... Should they not be provided prosthetic limbs because it doesn't save their life, just improves the quality of it? And how about those with neurodegenerative diseases where there's no treatment to prolong life... Should they not get treatment that helps them live better while they can?

It's the national health service. It's here to improve quality of life and keep people healthy, not just prevent them dying and leave it at that.

Posted from TSR Mobile
Original post by BobSausage
But then again people believe it's their right to smoke their lives away and expect the tax payer to pay for it on the NHS why shouldn't trans people have the same right to treatment to change their physical gender?

Because changing your physical gender isn't something that's life threatening. If you're a trans woman, you won't die if you don't get a vagina from the NHS. Cancer is life threatening and has taken many lives, so shouldn't be taken lightly. You can't receive therapy or counselling to help cure cancer..I don't know why you'd even compare the two.
Reply 37
Avatar for Whomp
Whomp
15
Original post by cherryred90s
Because changing your physical gender isn't something that's life threatening. If you're a trans woman, you won't die if you don't get a vagina from the NHS. Cancer is life threatening and has taken many lives, so shouldn't be taken lightly. You can't receive therapy or counselling to help cure cancer..I don't know why you'd even compare the two.


That's not my point, the smokers have brought this upon themselves, they are selfishly self-centred, and despite being fully aware of the health risks, they continue to smoke and expect us to pay for their treatment, is it not fair that transgender people get correctional treatment because it's cheaper than smokers treatment and there are so few transgender people, I mean less than 1% of the population isn't much compared to the number of smokers who demand treatment for what they've intentionally brought upon themselves.
Original post by Dandaman1
...Plus having to raise the money and pay for reassignment surgery gives people time to think. It certainly helps make sure they're committed and serious about it.



Actually, the current NHS guidelines for transgender people are that they MUST live in their preferred gender identity, full time, for at least 1-2 years. Most transgender people don't wake up one morning, think "I don't feel like the gender I was assigned at birth" and then immediately hop to the GP. A lot of transgender people spend a substantial amount of time in their life coming to terms with their identity, and only once they have realised or accepted it, do they begin to think about seeing the GP. After this, the usual course of treatment is mental health support and various therapies, and if the patient is still consenting, hormonal replacement therapy. The hormones take quite a long time to establish themselves in the body and begin to cause physical changes. Only after this, plus or including the official one or two years of living in their preferred gender, will they qualify for surgery on the NHS.

If you believe someone who has gone through all of that isn't "committed and serious" about it, then I don't know what else is.
Original post by BobSausage
That's not my point, the smokers have brought this upon themselves, they are selfishly self-centred, and despite being fully aware of the health risks, they continue to smoke and expect us to pay for their treatment, is it not fair that transgender people get correctional treatment because it's cheaper than smokers treatment and there are so few transgender people, I mean less than 1% of the population isn't much compared to the number of smokers who demand treatment for what they've intentionally brought upon themselves.


I see what you're saying but you have to realise that one carries a life threatening consequence whilst the other does not..that is why it is funded by the NHS. The only treatment for smoking related illnesses is through biological means. The same can't be said for gender dysphoria.

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