I know the NHS is stretched - and I can understand that they need to make sure you are a genuine case, but quite honestly they just don't seem to know how to handle this issue and a bureaucratic nightmare is the result.
Let me give you a flavour of it. When I went to my Doctor in September 2008 and said 'I can't live as a man - I think I'm a woman' he looked at me rather fearfully and delivered the shock admission 'I don't really know anything about this'. When was the last time you heard a doctor say that !!?
Actually, to be fair it wasn't my GP - who has been pretty good - but just a doctor at the surgery. What I wanted was a referral to Charing X there and then - how naive I was. He said I would be offered specialised counselling... ooooh
As it was a few weeks later I was sent to be assessed by a Counselling Psychologist or something. He was very nice and thought they could help me. Then I got a letter saying the wait would be five months to see anyone - not a 'specialised' counsellor - that never materialised.
I went back to my Doctor and spoke to my GP this time - he was helpful and said he would refer me to Charing X. Probably the skirt and the heels persuaded him I was pretty serious about the whole thing.
Soooo, next thing was a letter from Charing X saying they couldn't accept referrals from GPs, it would have to be from the mental health team. But the counselling bloke I saw before couldn't do it - I'd have to see a 'proper' shrink.
This is where it gets really hilarious... I got a letter from the mental health team asking me to ring them if I wished to pursue gender reassignment and would like an appointment. So I rang them and they said they'd send me an appointment. Er... OK. Odd.
I got an appointment for 19th January 2009 - four months after I went to the doctor. The counselling people rang me in the interim and said I should request to come off their list because they wouldn't recommend me having two types of therapy. As it was I took up the option of counselling offered by my employer - which was excellent and happened straight away with no wait at all.
So, yeah, I saw the shrink. Not the first one I've seen. He wasn't very nice really and just seemed to be going through the motions - ticking off things on his clipboard. When I left I found I was locked in (because this is where they send you to be sectioned!) so I had to find someone to let me out! nice.
Anyway - I then got a copy of a letter sent to Charing Cross with a very brief and not very accurate version of my account and referring to me throughout as 'he' and 'him'. Apparently I changed my name from Jason to JAYNE and this gave me a sense of "relief and pleasure" - quote, unquote, although I never said that.
Relief and pleasure - sounds a bit weird to me!
On the 12th February 2009 I got a letter from Charing Cross saying they would have to request funding from my NHS trust before I could attend so they would be sending them a fax. They were sorry they couldn't process my referral.
Then the NEXT DAY I got a letter saying I would be given an appointment... what was the point of that!!?
But I wasn't given an appointment there and then, oh no. First I had to sign something to say I wanted an appointment - then I week later I was sent another letter with - yes - an appointment!!
That appointment was six months away on 2nd September 2009 - about a year after I first went to the Doctors.
And my second appointment was eight months after that...
So, if you stuck with all that - what do you think? I'm sure that could have been achieved without the flim-flam couldn't it? Doesn't it seem a bit mad?
Now I am waiting for my clinician at Charing Cross to write to my GP and ask them to prescribe oestrogens... HOPEFULLY this will happen soon but you can see why I am getting pretty tired of waiting. And will twenty forms have to be filled out, signed and stamped in triplicate before this happens!?
At least things are happening, I think - and my next appointment is only three months away so that's much better.
The dear old NHS eh? I am grateful for it and I'm sure it will get me there in the end - but can you see why I am just a teensy, weensy, tiny bit frustrated?!!
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