#gatekeeping — Public Fediverse posts

We don't have the spoons for a detailed post. We've written other posts recently giving updates on some of our struggles, but we needed to get the thoughts out of our head before sleep tonight 🥺😔

We're realistically facing a situation very soon where we'll officially be told that we're not going to get any gender-affirming surgeries from NHS England whatsoever, making the last nearly 5 years of trying to progress through this dehumanising, anxiety-inducing, decorating, belittling, gatekeeping, outdated process completely worthless :Sighing_Face:

We already had to accept we could never get FFS.

We tried twice to convince them to give us VFS, but they said no, and gave us no actual further voice training help.

We knew that trying to get PPT vaginoplasty would be a longshot, but we never expected:

• to have PPT basically badmouthed during a consultation;
• to hear basic PIV or scrotal flap techniques described as the "gold standard" (!!!) for genital reconfiguration surgery (GRS);
• to be told that the only surgeon who'd see us is one we'd never, ever trust or want anywhere near us, especially after having specifically requested another surgeon (the only one we'd trust in the UK for GRS); and
• that we'd need to go back begging to our gender clinic -- which no longer responds to our emails at all -- to try to convince them to submit a funding request for a basic standalone bilateral orchidectomy and scrotectomy... which would have been required anyway as part of PIV or vulvoplasty!!!

We've reached the point where we don't think we can get any joy from seeing other trans+ folks' joy and euphoria from making progress in their own transitions, particularly surgeries, as we can't help but feel so painfully sad crushingly jealous and upset that we cannot get even the most basic care after waiting even longer 😔

And nope: we've zero chance of being able to ever even fund the cheapest of surgeries privately.

Apologies for the sad dump. We needed to write it all out to have any chance at getting to sleep soon :BlobCatSad:

#EOEGS #NHS #NHSEngland #FuckTheNHS #FuckEngland #FuckTheUK #GenderAffirmingSurgery #GenderAffirmingHealthcare #gatekeeping #trans #transgender #NonBinary #TransFem #GRS #GenderDysphoria #transition #PPT #PIV #FFS #VFS #orchidectomy #FML #queer #LGBTQ+ #LGBTQIA+ #LackOfTransJoy

We don't have the spoons for a detailed post. We've written other posts recently giving updates on some of our struggles, but we needed to get the thoughts out of our head before sleep tonight 🥺😔

We're realistically facing a situation very soon where we'll officially be told that we're not going to get any gender-affirming surgeries from NHS England whatsoever, making the last nearly 5 years of trying to progress through this dehumanising, anxiety-inducing, decorating, belittling, gatekeeping, outdated process completely worthless :Sighing_Face:

We already had to accept we could never get FFS.

We tried twice to convince them to give us VFS, but they said no, and gave us no actual further voice training help.

We knew that trying to get PPT vaginoplasty would be a longshot, but we never expected:

• to have PPT basically badmouthed during a consultation;
• to hear basic PIV or scrotal flap techniques described as the "gold standard" (!!!) for genital reconfiguration surgery (GRS);
• to be told that the only surgeon who'd see us is one we'd never, ever trust or want anywhere near us, especially after having specifically requested another surgeon (the only one we'd trust in the UK for GRS); and
• that we'd need to go back begging to our gender clinic -- which no longer responds to our emails at all -- to try to convince them to submit a funding request for a basic standalone bilateral orchidectomy and scrotectomy... which would have been required anyway as part of PIV or vulvoplasty!!!

We've reached the point where we don't think we can get any joy from seeing other trans+ folks' joy and euphoria from making progress in their own transitions, particularly surgeries, as we can't help but feel so painfully sad crushingly jealous and upset that we cannot get even the most basic care after waiting even longer 😔

And nope: we've zero chance of being able to ever even fund the cheapest of surgeries privately.

Apologies for the sad dump. We needed to write it all out to have any chance at getting to sleep soon :BlobCatSad:

#EOEGS #NHS #NHSEngland #FuckTheNHS #FuckEngland #FuckTheUK #GenderAffirmingSurgery #GenderAffirmingHealthcare #gatekeeping #trans #transgender #NonBinary #TransFem #GRS #GenderDysphoria #transition #PPT #PIV #FFS #VFS #orchidectomy #FML #queer #LGBTQ+ #LGBTQIA+ #LackOfTransJoy

We don't have the spoons for a detailed post. We've written other posts recently giving updates on some of our struggles, but we needed to get the thoughts out of our head before sleep tonight 🥺😔

We're realistically facing a situation very soon where we'll officially be told that we're not going to get any gender-affirming surgeries from NHS England whatsoever, making the last nearly 5 years of trying to progress through this dehumanising, anxiety-inducing, decorating, belittling, gatekeeping, outdated process completely worthless :Sighing_Face:

We already had to accept we could never get FFS.

We tried twice to convince them to give us VFS, but they said no, and gave us no actual further voice training help.

We knew that trying to get PPT vaginoplasty would be a longshot, but we never expected:

• to have PPT basically badmouthed during a consultation;
• to hear basic PIV or scrotal flap techniques described as the "gold standard" (!!!) for genital reconfiguration surgery (GRS);
• to be told that the only surgeon who'd see us is one we'd never, ever trust or want anywhere near us, especially after having specifically requested another surgeon (the only one we'd trust in the UK for GRS); and
• that we'd need to go back begging to our gender clinic -- which no longer responds to our emails at all -- to try to convince them to submit a funding request for a basic standalone bilateral orchidectomy and scrotectomy... which would have been required anyway as part of PIV or vulvoplasty!!!

We've reached the point where we don't think we can get any joy from seeing other trans+ folks' joy and euphoria from making progress in their own transitions, particularly surgeries, as we can't help but feel so painfully sad crushingly jealous and upset that we cannot get even the most basic care after waiting even longer 😔

And nope: we've zero chance of being able to ever even fund the cheapest of surgeries privately.

Apologies for the sad dump. We needed to write it all out to have any chance at getting to sleep soon :BlobCatSad:

#EOEGS #NHS #NHSEngland #FuckTheNHS #FuckEngland #FuckTheUK #GenderAffirmingSurgery #GenderAffirmingHealthcare #gatekeeping #trans #transgender #NonBinary #TransFem #GRS #GenderDysphoria #transition #PPT #PIV #FFS #VFS #orchidectomy #FML #queer #LGBTQ+ #LGBTQIA+ #LackOfTransJoy

We don't have the spoons for a detailed post. We've written other posts recently giving updates on some of our struggles, but we needed to get the thoughts out of our head before sleep tonight 🥺😔

We're realistically facing a situation very soon where we'll officially be told that we're not going to get any gender-affirming surgeries from NHS England whatsoever, making the last nearly 5 years of trying to progress through this dehumanising, anxiety-inducing, decorating, belittling, gatekeeping, outdated process completely worthless :Sighing_Face:

We already had to accept we could never get FFS.

We tried twice to convince them to give us VFS, but they said no, and gave us no actual further voice training help.

We knew that trying to get PPT vaginoplasty would be a longshot, but we never expected:

• to have PPT basically badmouthed during a consultation;
• to hear basic PIV or scrotal flap techniques described as the "gold standard" (!!!) for genital reconfiguration surgery (GRS);
• to be told that the only surgeon who'd see us is one we'd never, ever trust or want anywhere near us, especially after having specifically requested another surgeon (the only one we'd trust in the UK for GRS); and
• that we'd need to go back begging to our gender clinic -- which no longer responds to our emails at all -- to try to convince them to submit a funding request for a basic standalone bilateral orchidectomy and scrotectomy... which would have been required anyway as part of PIV or vulvoplasty!!!

We've reached the point where we don't think we can get any joy from seeing other trans+ folks' joy and euphoria from making progress in their own transitions, particularly surgeries, as we can't help but feel so painfully sad crushingly jealous and upset that we cannot get even the most basic care after waiting even longer 😔

And nope: we've zero chance of being able to ever even fund the cheapest of surgeries privately.

Apologies for the sad dump. We needed to write it all out to have any chance at getting to sleep soon :BlobCatSad:

#EOEGS #NHS #NHSEngland #FuckTheNHS #FuckEngland #FuckTheUK #GenderAffirmingSurgery #GenderAffirmingHealthcare #gatekeeping #trans #transgender #NonBinary #TransFem #GRS #GenderDysphoria #transition #PPT #PIV #FFS #VFS #orchidectomy #FML #queer #LGBTQ+ #LGBTQIA+ #LackOfTransJoy

We don't have the spoons for a detailed post. We've written other posts recently giving updates on some of our struggles, but we needed to get the thoughts out of our head before sleep tonight 🥺😔

We're realistically facing a situation very soon where we'll officially be told that we're not going to get any gender-affirming surgeries from NHS England whatsoever, making the last nearly 5 years of trying to progress through this dehumanising, anxiety-inducing, decorating, belittling, gatekeeping, outdated process completely worthless :Sighing_Face:

We already had to accept we could never get FFS.

We tried twice to convince them to give us VFS, but they said no, and gave us no actual further voice training help.

We knew that trying to get PPT vaginoplasty would be a longshot, but we never expected:

• to have PPT basically badmouthed during a consultation;
• to hear basic PIV or scrotal flap techniques described as the "gold standard" (!!!) for genital reconfiguration surgery (GRS);
• to be told that the only surgeon who'd see us is one we'd never, ever trust or want anywhere near us, especially after having specifically requested another surgeon (the only one we'd trust in the UK for GRS); and
• that we'd need to go back begging to our gender clinic -- which no longer responds to our emails at all -- to try to convince them to submit a funding request for a basic standalone bilateral orchidectomy and scrotectomy... which would have been required anyway as part of PIV or vulvoplasty!!!

We've reached the point where we don't think we can get any joy from seeing other trans+ folks' joy and euphoria from making progress in their own transitions, particularly surgeries, as we can't help but feel so painfully sad crushingly jealous and upset that we cannot get even the most basic care after waiting even longer 😔

And nope: we've zero chance of being able to ever even fund the cheapest of surgeries privately.

Apologies for the sad dump. We needed to write it all out to have any chance at getting to sleep soon :BlobCatSad:

#EOEGS #NHS #NHSEngland #FuckTheNHS #FuckEngland #FuckTheUK #GenderAffirmingSurgery #GenderAffirmingHealthcare #gatekeeping #trans #transgender #NonBinary #TransFem #GRS #GenderDysphoria #transition #PPT #PIV #FFS #VFS #orchidectomy #FML #queer #LGBTQ+ #LGBTQIA+ #LackOfTransJoy

Post-egg cracking time is weird :TransHeart: :NonBinaryHeart:

By the very start of April 2025, it will have been 4 years since the shell of our egg finally officially cracked. And as it finally cracked, it smashed to pieces.

It both feels like a lifetime ago and only yesterday that we were still questioning whether or not we were trans... or just (for perfectly cis reasons) someone who wanted to be a gal 🤦‍♀️ (Oh, that poor sweet summer child :GirlInTransHoodieHuggingFurry:)

Note to any eggs and/or questioning folks reading this: by definition, cis people don't want to be a gender other than the one assigned to them at birth 😅

By NHS England standards, we've made more progress than most do within that timeframe. We've beaten our away through:

• 2 appointments to get the NHS to agree we're indeed trans 🙄
• A further appointment about starting HRT and giving us a surgical referral 🤨
• Almost 6 months for them to send a basic letter about starting HRT to our GP 😖
• Yet another appointment to get a second required surgical referral :FaceExhaling:

For anyone in a country with somewhat functional healthcare for trans people, this is actually fast by NHS England standards. Many people wait 3-5+ years for their first appointment alone.

The fact that we've got to the point of getting some limited electrolysis covered (16 whole hours) and joined a surgeon's waiting list to discuss bottom surgery options is great by NHS standards, but it's shite by international standards.

From a certain point of view, we know we should be grateful. However, we can't help but feel resentful for how many years of dehumanising hoops and hurdles trans people have to jump through in the UK just to receive basic gender-affirming care. And this is just our perspective as an adult: there is currently no gender-affirming care whatsoever for trans youth via the NHS 😭

Gender-affirming care doesn't exist in a vacuum. Whilst we're always happy to see others getting the care they need faster, we won't lie: it's hard not to feel jealous when someone 2-3 years into their transition:

• Was able to start HRT injections on prescription via informed consent.
• Was able to get several life-improving gender-affirming surgeries. E.g.:
  • Standalone bilateral orchidectomy.
  • Vaginoplasty.
  • Facial Feminisation Surgery (FFS).
  • Voice Feminisation Surgery (VFS).
  • Breast Augmentation (BA).

For those who don't already know, NHS England doesn't even routinely approve standalone bilateral orchidectomy, FFS, VFS, or BA. And yes, whilst it is technically possible to get solely your nads yeeted, it typically:

(a) is done in place of vaginoplasty; or
(b) requires approval of an Individual Funding Request (IFR) by your local Integrated Care Board / System (ICB / ICS), which will be reviewed on a per patient basis.

Again, whilst you can technically apply for funding for FFS, VFS, and/or BA via IFR:

• It's really unlikely to succeed; and
• You first have to convince your gender clinic to actually submit them for you.

For us, BA isn't something we want, but FFS and VFS very much are :PleadingFaceWithRedHearts: However, we're still waiting for our gender clinic to agree to submit IFRs for us! We've actually had to raise a complaint about the clinic refusing to do so 😔

Anyway, that's enough venting for now.

#NHS #NHSEngland #trans #transgender #TransFem #healthcare #TransHealthcare #gatekeeping #orchidectomy #BofaEctomy #FFS #VFS #FacialFeminisationSurgery #VoiceFeminisationSurgery #glottoplasty #IFR #IndividualFundingRequest #queer #LGBTQ+ #LGBTQIA+

Post-egg cracking time is weird :TransHeart: :NonBinaryHeart:

By the very start of April 2025, it will have been 4 years since the shell of our egg finally officially cracked. And as it finally cracked, it smashed to pieces.

It both feels like a lifetime ago and only yesterday that we were still questioning whether or not we were trans... or just (for perfectly cis reasons) someone who wanted to be a gal 🤦‍♀️ (Oh, that poor sweet summer child :GirlInTransHoodieHuggingFurry:)

Note to any eggs and/or questioning folks reading this: by definition, cis people don't want to be a gender other than the one assigned to them at birth 😅

By NHS England standards, we've made more progress than most do within that timeframe. We've beaten our away through:

• 2 appointments to get the NHS to agree we're indeed trans 🙄
• A further appointment about starting HRT and giving us a surgical referral 🤨
• Almost 6 months for them to send a basic letter about starting HRT to our GP 😖
• Yet another appointment to get a second required surgical referral :FaceExhaling:

For anyone in a country with somewhat functional healthcare for trans people, this is actually fast by NHS England standards. Many people wait 3-5+ years for their first appointment alone.

The fact that we've got to the point of getting some limited electrolysis covered (16 whole hours) and joined a surgeon's waiting list to discuss bottom surgery options is great by NHS standards, but it's shite by international standards.

From a certain point of view, we know we should be grateful. However, we can't help but feel resentful for how many years of dehumanising hoops and hurdles trans people have to jump through in the UK just to receive basic gender-affirming care. And this is just our perspective as an adult: there is currently no gender-affirming care whatsoever for trans youth via the NHS 😭

Gender-affirming care doesn't exist in a vacuum. Whilst we're always happy to see others getting the care they need faster, we won't lie: it's hard not to feel jealous when someone 2-3 years into their transition:

• Was able to start HRT injections on prescription via informed consent.
• Was able to get several life-improving gender-affirming surgeries. E.g.:
  • Standalone bilateral orchidectomy.
  • Vaginoplasty.
  • Facial Feminisation Surgery (FFS).
  • Voice Feminisation Surgery (VFS).
  • Breast Augmentation (BA).

For those who don't already know, NHS England doesn't even routinely approve standalone bilateral orchidectomy, FFS, VFS, or BA. And yes, whilst it is technically possible to get solely your nads yeeted, it typically:

(a) is done in place of vaginoplasty; or
(b) requires approval of an Individual Funding Request (IFR) by your local Integrated Care Board / System (ICB / ICS), which will be reviewed on a per patient basis.

Again, whilst you can technically apply for funding for FFS, VFS, and/or BA via IFR:

• It's really unlikely to succeed; and
• You first have to convince your gender clinic to actually submit them for you.

For us, BA isn't something we want, but FFS and VFS very much are :PleadingFaceWithRedHearts: However, we're still waiting for our gender clinic to agree to submit IFRs for us! We've actually had to raise a complaint about the clinic refusing to do so 😔

Anyway, that's enough venting for now.

#NHS #NHSEngland #trans #transgender #TransFem #healthcare #TransHealthcare #gatekeeping #orchidectomy #BofaEctomy #FFS #VFS #FacialFeminisationSurgery #VoiceFeminisationSurgery #glottoplasty #IFR #IndividualFundingRequest #queer #LGBTQ+ #LGBTQIA+

Post-egg cracking time is weird :TransHeart: :NonBinaryHeart:

By the very start of April 2025, it will have been 4 years since the shell of our egg finally officially cracked. And as it finally cracked, it smashed to pieces.

It both feels like a lifetime ago and only yesterday that we were still questioning whether or not we were trans... or just (for perfectly cis reasons) someone who wanted to be a gal 🤦‍♀️ (Oh, that poor sweet summer child :GirlInTransHoodieHuggingFurry:)

Note to any eggs and/or questioning folks reading this: by definition, cis people don't want to be a gender other than the one assigned to them at birth 😅

By NHS England standards, we've made more progress than most do within that timeframe. We've beaten our away through:

• 2 appointments to get the NHS to agree we're indeed trans 🙄
• A further appointment about starting HRT and giving us a surgical referral 🤨
• Almost 6 months for them to send a basic letter about starting HRT to our GP 😖
• Yet another appointment to get a second required surgical referral :FaceExhaling:

For anyone in a country with somewhat functional healthcare for trans people, this is actually fast by NHS England standards. Many people wait 3-5+ years for their first appointment alone.

The fact that we've got to the point of getting some limited electrolysis covered (16 whole hours) and joined a surgeon's waiting list to discuss bottom surgery options is great by NHS standards, but it's shite by international standards.

From a certain point of view, we know we should be grateful. However, we can't help but feel resentful for how many years of dehumanising hoops and hurdles trans people have to jump through in the UK just to receive basic gender-affirming care. And this is just our perspective as an adult: there is currently no gender-affirming care whatsoever for trans youth via the NHS 😭

Gender-affirming care doesn't exist in a vacuum. Whilst we're always happy to see others getting the care they need faster, we won't lie: it's hard not to feel jealous when someone 2-3 years into their transition:

• Was able to start HRT injections on prescription via informed consent.
• Was able to get several life-improving gender-affirming surgeries. E.g.:
  • Standalone bilateral orchidectomy.
  • Vaginoplasty.
  • Facial Feminisation Surgery (FFS).
  • Voice Feminisation Surgery (VFS).
  • Breast Augmentation (BA).

For those who don't already know, NHS England doesn't even routinely approve standalone bilateral orchidectomy, FFS, VFS, or BA. And yes, whilst it is technically possible to get solely your nads yeeted, it typically:

(a) is done in place of vaginoplasty; or
(b) requires approval of an Individual Funding Request (IFR) by your local Integrated Care Board / System (ICB / ICS), which will be reviewed on a per patient basis.

Again, whilst you can technically apply for funding for FFS, VFS, and/or BA via IFR:

• It's really unlikely to succeed; and
• You first have to convince your gender clinic to actually submit them for you.

For us, BA isn't something we want, but FFS and VFS very much are :PleadingFaceWithRedHearts: However, we're still waiting for our gender clinic to agree to submit IFRs for us! We've actually had to raise a complaint about the clinic refusing to do so 😔

Anyway, that's enough venting for now.

#NHS #NHSEngland #trans #transgender #TransFem #healthcare #TransHealthcare #gatekeeping #orchidectomy #BofaEctomy #FFS #VFS #FacialFeminisationSurgery #VoiceFeminisationSurgery #glottoplasty #IFR #IndividualFundingRequest #queer #LGBTQ+ #LGBTQIA+

Post-egg cracking time is weird :TransHeart: :NonBinaryHeart:

By the very start of April 2025, it will have been 4 years since the shell of our egg finally officially cracked. And as it finally cracked, it smashed to pieces.

It both feels like a lifetime ago and only yesterday that we were still questioning whether or not we were trans... or just (for perfectly cis reasons) someone who wanted to be a gal 🤦‍♀️ (Oh, that poor sweet summer child :GirlInTransHoodieHuggingFurry:)

Note to any eggs and/or questioning folks reading this: by definition, cis people don't want to be a gender other than the one assigned to them at birth 😅

By NHS England standards, we've made more progress than most do within that timeframe. We've beaten our away through:

• 2 appointments to get the NHS to agree we're indeed trans 🙄
• A further appointment about starting HRT and giving us a surgical referral 🤨
• Almost 6 months for them to send a basic letter about starting HRT to our GP 😖
• Yet another appointment to get a second required surgical referral :FaceExhaling:

For anyone in a country with somewhat functional healthcare for trans people, this is actually fast by NHS England standards. Many people wait 3-5+ years for their first appointment alone.

The fact that we've got to the point of getting some limited electrolysis covered (16 whole hours) and joined a surgeon's waiting list to discuss bottom surgery options is great by NHS standards, but it's shite by international standards.

From a certain point of view, we know we should be grateful. However, we can't help but feel resentful for how many years of dehumanising hoops and hurdles trans people have to jump through in the UK just to receive basic gender-affirming care. And this is just our perspective as an adult: there is currently no gender-affirming care whatsoever for trans youth via the NHS 😭

Gender-affirming care doesn't exist in a vacuum. Whilst we're always happy to see others getting the care they need faster, we won't lie: it's hard not to feel jealous when someone 2-3 years into their transition:

• Was able to start HRT injections on prescription via informed consent.
• Was able to get several life-improving gender-affirming surgeries. E.g.:
  • Standalone bilateral orchidectomy.
  • Vaginoplasty.
  • Facial Feminisation Surgery (FFS).
  • Voice Feminisation Surgery (VFS).
  • Breast Augmentation (BA).

For those who don't already know, NHS England doesn't even routinely approve standalone bilateral orchidectomy, FFS, VFS, or BA. And yes, whilst it is technically possible to get solely your nads yeeted, it typically:

(a) is done in place of vaginoplasty; or
(b) requires approval of an Individual Funding Request (IFR) by your local Integrated Care Board / System (ICB / ICS), which will be reviewed on a per patient basis.

Again, whilst you can technically apply for funding for FFS, VFS, and/or BA via IFR:

• It's really unlikely to succeed; and
• You first have to convince your gender clinic to actually submit them for you.

For us, BA isn't something we want, but FFS and VFS very much are :PleadingFaceWithRedHearts: However, we're still waiting for our gender clinic to agree to submit IFRs for us! We've actually had to raise a complaint about the clinic refusing to do so 😔

Anyway, that's enough venting for now.

#NHS #NHSEngland #trans #transgender #TransFem #healthcare #TransHealthcare #gatekeeping #orchidectomy #BofaEctomy #FFS #VFS #FacialFeminisationSurgery #VoiceFeminisationSurgery #glottoplasty #IFR #IndividualFundingRequest #queer #LGBTQ+ #LGBTQIA+

Post-egg cracking time is weird :TransHeart: :NonBinaryHeart:

By the very start of April 2025, it will have been 4 years since the shell of our egg finally officially cracked. And as it finally cracked, it smashed to pieces.

It both feels like a lifetime ago and only yesterday that we were still questioning whether or not we were trans... or just (for perfectly cis reasons) someone who wanted to be a gal 🤦‍♀️ (Oh, that poor sweet summer child :GirlInTransHoodieHuggingFurry:)

Note to any eggs and/or questioning folks reading this: by definition, cis people don't want to be a gender other than the one assigned to them at birth 😅

By NHS England standards, we've made more progress than most do within that timeframe. We've beaten our away through:

• 2 appointments to get the NHS to agree we're indeed trans 🙄
• A further appointment about starting HRT and giving us a surgical referral 🤨
• Almost 6 months for them to send a basic letter about starting HRT to our GP 😖
• Yet another appointment to get a second required surgical referral :FaceExhaling:

For anyone in a country with somewhat functional healthcare for trans people, this is actually fast by NHS England standards. Many people wait 3-5+ years for their first appointment alone.

The fact that we've got to the point of getting some limited electrolysis covered (16 whole hours) and joined a surgeon's waiting list to discuss bottom surgery options is great by NHS standards, but it's shite by international standards.

From a certain point of view, we know we should be grateful. However, we can't help but feel resentful for how many years of dehumanising hoops and hurdles trans people have to jump through in the UK just to receive basic gender-affirming care. And this is just our perspective as an adult: there is currently no gender-affirming care whatsoever for trans youth via the NHS 😭

Gender-affirming care doesn't exist in a vacuum. Whilst we're always happy to see others getting the care they need faster, we won't lie: it's hard not to feel jealous when someone 2-3 years into their transition:

• Was able to start HRT injections on prescription via informed consent.
• Was able to get several life-improving gender-affirming surgeries. E.g.:
  • Standalone bilateral orchidectomy.
  • Vaginoplasty.
  • Facial Feminisation Surgery (FFS).
  • Voice Feminisation Surgery (VFS).
  • Breast Augmentation (BA).

For those who don't already know, NHS England doesn't even routinely approve standalone bilateral orchidectomy, FFS, VFS, or BA. And yes, whilst it is technically possible to get solely your nads yeeted, it typically:

(a) is done in place of vaginoplasty; or
(b) requires approval of an Individual Funding Request (IFR) by your local Integrated Care Board / System (ICB / ICS), which will be reviewed on a per patient basis.

Again, whilst you can technically apply for funding for FFS, VFS, and/or BA via IFR:

• It's really unlikely to succeed; and
• You first have to convince your gender clinic to actually submit them for you.

For us, BA isn't something we want, but FFS and VFS very much are :PleadingFaceWithRedHearts: However, we're still waiting for our gender clinic to agree to submit IFRs for us! We've actually had to raise a complaint about the clinic refusing to do so 😔

Anyway, that's enough venting for now.

#NHS #NHSEngland #trans #transgender #TransFem #healthcare #TransHealthcare #gatekeeping #orchidectomy #BofaEctomy #FFS #VFS #FacialFeminisationSurgery #VoiceFeminisationSurgery #glottoplasty #IFR #IndividualFundingRequest #queer #LGBTQ+ #LGBTQIA+

Hey folks :FediverseSymbol:

We've made previous posts about our progress through the NHS East of England Gender Service (EOEGS), which you can find under the #EOEGS hashtag. Our last post was here.

We followed up with the EOEGS about our request for them to submit Individual Funding Requests (IFRs) on our behalf and gave them until the end of 2024 to respond.

When they inevitably refused to give us any further update over this, as we sadly expected, we raised a complaint against the EOEGS and its service lead via NHS England. It's currently under investigation at the time of writing this post.

Just to clarify, we don't expect any quick response or any positive outcome from this complaint. On the contrary, we expect them to come up with some excuses as to why they can't and won't do has been asked of them, despite NHS England's IFR team informing the EOEGS that it's their responsibility to submit IFRs on behalf of trans patients under their care pathway.

So, why are we doing this then? A few reasons really.

• It's the right thing to push NHS England to fulfil their obligations and responsibilities.
• If we succeed, it could positively affect other trans people in England.
• It may highlight the multiple failures of the EOEGS (especially the service lead) to the higher-ups at NHS England.
• It's the only realistic chance we have of getting the gender-affirming care we need, as we cannot afford it privately ourselves.

Even if can get them to raise IFRs for us, there's no guarantee that they will succeed. In fact, it's more likely that they won't, but at least we'll have set a precedent that NHS England gender clinics have to raise them.

And once we've been rejected, we can then create fundraisers guilt-free, knowing that we've done everything we could first to get NHS England to give us the gender-affirming care we need to alleviate gender dysphoria :PleadingFace:

We don't and won't ever judge anyone else for not going down this route before creating fundraisers. We just suffer a lot from feelings of imposter syndrome and not being worthy of care, so in our mind we can only allow ourselves to reach out to others for help once we've exhausted all routes open to us first :FaceExhaling:

This is all only necessary because NHS England refuses to cover Facial Feminisation Surgery (FFS), Voice Feminisation Surgery (VFS), and standalone bilateral orchidectomy as standard for trans fem patients 🤦‍♀️

So yeah. That's where we're at.

#NHS #NHSEngland #trans #transgender #TransFem #healthcare #TransHealthcare #gatekeeping #orchidectomy #BofaEctomy #FFS #VFS #FacialFeminisationSurgery #VoiceFeminisationSurgery #glottoplasty #IFR #IndividualFundingRequest #queer #LGBTQ+ #LGBTQIA+

Hey folks :FediverseSymbol:

We've made previous posts about our progress through the NHS East of England Gender Service (EOEGS), which you can find under the #EOEGS hashtag. Our last post was here.

We followed up with the EOEGS about our request for them to submit Individual Funding Requests (IFRs) on our behalf and gave them until the end of 2024 to respond.

When they inevitably refused to give us any further update over this, as we sadly expected, we raised a complaint against the EOEGS and its service lead via NHS England. It's currently under investigation at the time of writing this post.

Just to clarify, we don't expect any quick response or any positive outcome from this complaint. On the contrary, we expect them to come up with some excuses as to why they can't and won't do has been asked of them, despite NHS England's IFR team informing the EOEGS that it's their responsibility to submit IFRs on behalf of trans patients under their care pathway.

So, why are we doing this then? A few reasons really.

• It's the right thing to push NHS England to fulfil their obligations and responsibilities.
• If we succeed, it could positively affect other trans people in England.
• It may highlight the multiple failures of the EOEGS (especially the service lead) to the higher-ups at NHS England.
• It's the only realistic chance we have of getting the gender-affirming care we need, as we cannot afford it privately ourselves.

Even if can get them to raise IFRs for us, there's no guarantee that they will succeed. In fact, it's more likely that they won't, but at least we'll have set a precedent that NHS England gender clinics have to raise them.

And once we've been rejected, we can then create fundraisers guilt-free, knowing that we've done everything we could first to get NHS England to give us the gender-affirming care we need to alleviate gender dysphoria :PleadingFace:

We don't and won't ever judge anyone else for not going down this route before creating fundraisers. We just suffer a lot from feelings of imposter syndrome and not being worthy of care, so in our mind we can only allow ourselves to reach out to others for help once we've exhausted all routes open to us first :FaceExhaling:

This is all only necessary because NHS England refuses to cover Facial Feminisation Surgery (FFS), Voice Feminisation Surgery (VFS), and standalone bilateral orchidectomy as standard for trans fem patients 🤦‍♀️

So yeah. That's where we're at.

#NHS #NHSEngland #trans #transgender #TransFem #healthcare #TransHealthcare #gatekeeping #orchidectomy #BofaEctomy #FFS #VFS #FacialFeminisationSurgery #VoiceFeminisationSurgery #glottoplasty #IFR #IndividualFundingRequest #queer #LGBTQ+ #LGBTQIA+

Hey folks :FediverseSymbol:

We've made previous posts about our progress through the NHS East of England Gender Service (EOEGS), which you can find under the #EOEGS hashtag. Our last post was here.

We followed up with the EOEGS about our request for them to submit Individual Funding Requests (IFRs) on our behalf and gave them until the end of 2024 to respond.

When they inevitably refused to give us any further update over this, as we sadly expected, we raised a complaint against the EOEGS and its service lead via NHS England. It's currently under investigation at the time of writing this post.

Just to clarify, we don't expect any quick response or any positive outcome from this complaint. On the contrary, we expect them to come up with some excuses as to why they can't and won't do has been asked of them, despite NHS England's IFR team informing the EOEGS that it's their responsibility to submit IFRs on behalf of trans patients under their care pathway.

So, why are we doing this then? A few reasons really.

• It's the right thing to push NHS England to fulfil their obligations and responsibilities.
• If we succeed, it could positively affect other trans people in England.
• It may highlight the multiple failures of the EOEGS (especially the service lead) to the higher-ups at NHS England.
• It's the only realistic chance we have of getting the gender-affirming care we need, as we cannot afford it privately ourselves.

Even if can get them to raise IFRs for us, there's no guarantee that they will succeed. In fact, it's more likely that they won't, but at least we'll have set a precedent that NHS England gender clinics have to raise them.

And once we've been rejected, we can then create fundraisers guilt-free, knowing that we've done everything we could first to get NHS England to give us the gender-affirming care we need to alleviate gender dysphoria :PleadingFace:

We don't and won't ever judge anyone else for not going down this route before creating fundraisers. We just suffer a lot from feelings of imposter syndrome and not being worthy of care, so in our mind we can only allow ourselves to reach out to others for help once we've exhausted all routes open to us first :FaceExhaling:

This is all only necessary because NHS England refuses to cover Facial Feminisation Surgery (FFS), Voice Feminisation Surgery (VFS), and standalone bilateral orchidectomy as standard for trans fem patients 🤦‍♀️

So yeah. That's where we're at.

#NHS #NHSEngland #trans #transgender #TransFem #healthcare #TransHealthcare #gatekeeping #orchidectomy #BofaEctomy #FFS #VFS #FacialFeminisationSurgery #VoiceFeminisationSurgery #glottoplasty #IFR #IndividualFundingRequest #queer #LGBTQ+ #LGBTQIA+

Hey folks :FediverseSymbol:

We've made previous posts about our progress through the NHS East of England Gender Service (EOEGS), which you can find under the #EOEGS hashtag. Our last post was here.

We followed up with the EOEGS about our request for them to submit Individual Funding Requests (IFRs) on our behalf and gave them until the end of 2024 to respond.

When they inevitably refused to give us any further update over this, as we sadly expected, we raised a complaint against the EOEGS and its service lead via NHS England. It's currently under investigation at the time of writing this post.

Just to clarify, we don't expect any quick response or any positive outcome from this complaint. On the contrary, we expect them to come up with some excuses as to why they can't and won't do has been asked of them, despite NHS England's IFR team informing the EOEGS that it's their responsibility to submit IFRs on behalf of trans patients under their care pathway.

So, why are we doing this then? A few reasons really.

• It's the right thing to push NHS England to fulfil their obligations and responsibilities.
• If we succeed, it could positively affect other trans people in England.
• It may highlight the multiple failures of the EOEGS (especially the service lead) to the higher-ups at NHS England.
• It's the only realistic chance we have of getting the gender-affirming care we need, as we cannot afford it privately ourselves.

Even if can get them to raise IFRs for us, there's no guarantee that they will succeed. In fact, it's more likely that they won't, but at least we'll have set a precedent that NHS England gender clinics have to raise them.

And once we've been rejected, we can then create fundraisers guilt-free, knowing that we've done everything we could first to get NHS England to give us the gender-affirming care we need to alleviate gender dysphoria :PleadingFace:

We don't and won't ever judge anyone else for not going down this route before creating fundraisers. We just suffer a lot from feelings of imposter syndrome and not being worthy of care, so in our mind we can only allow ourselves to reach out to others for help once we've exhausted all routes open to us first :FaceExhaling:

This is all only necessary because NHS England refuses to cover Facial Feminisation Surgery (FFS), Voice Feminisation Surgery (VFS), and standalone bilateral orchidectomy as standard for trans fem patients 🤦‍♀️

So yeah. That's where we're at.

#NHS #NHSEngland #trans #transgender #TransFem #healthcare #TransHealthcare #gatekeeping #orchidectomy #BofaEctomy #FFS #VFS #FacialFeminisationSurgery #VoiceFeminisationSurgery #glottoplasty #IFR #IndividualFundingRequest #queer #LGBTQ+ #LGBTQIA+

Hey folks :FediverseSymbol:

We've made previous posts about our progress through the NHS East of England Gender Service (EOEGS), which you can find under the #EOEGS hashtag. Our last post was here.

We followed up with the EOEGS about our request for them to submit Individual Funding Requests (IFRs) on our behalf and gave them until the end of 2024 to respond.

When they inevitably refused to give us any further update over this, as we sadly expected, we raised a complaint against the EOEGS and its service lead via NHS England. It's currently under investigation at the time of writing this post.

Just to clarify, we don't expect any quick response or any positive outcome from this complaint. On the contrary, we expect them to come up with some excuses as to why they can't and won't do has been asked of them, despite NHS England's IFR team informing the EOEGS that it's their responsibility to submit IFRs on behalf of trans patients under their care pathway.

So, why are we doing this then? A few reasons really.

• It's the right thing to push NHS England to fulfil their obligations and responsibilities.
• If we succeed, it could positively affect other trans people in England.
• It may highlight the multiple failures of the EOEGS (especially the service lead) to the higher-ups at NHS England.
• It's the only realistic chance we have of getting the gender-affirming care we need, as we cannot afford it privately ourselves.

Even if can get them to raise IFRs for us, there's no guarantee that they will succeed. In fact, it's more likely that they won't, but at least we'll have set a precedent that NHS England gender clinics have to raise them.

And once we've been rejected, we can then create fundraisers guilt-free, knowing that we've done everything we could first to get NHS England to give us the gender-affirming care we need to alleviate gender dysphoria :PleadingFace:

We don't and won't ever judge anyone else for not going down this route before creating fundraisers. We just suffer a lot from feelings of imposter syndrome and not being worthy of care, so in our mind we can only allow ourselves to reach out to others for help once we've exhausted all routes open to us first :FaceExhaling:

This is all only necessary because NHS England refuses to cover Facial Feminisation Surgery (FFS), Voice Feminisation Surgery (VFS), and standalone bilateral orchidectomy as standard for trans fem patients 🤦‍♀️

So yeah. That's where we're at.

#NHS #NHSEngland #trans #transgender #TransFem #healthcare #TransHealthcare #gatekeeping #orchidectomy #BofaEctomy #FFS #VFS #FacialFeminisationSurgery #VoiceFeminisationSurgery #glottoplasty #IFR #IndividualFundingRequest #queer #LGBTQ+ #LGBTQIA+