Hi there,
I hope this is okay; I'm using my mum's account to respond to this thread. Normally I don't bother with forum posts- I'm quite a private person- but as this one was a little closer to home I thought it best to give the perspective of one of the people using Dr Webberley's service. It should come as no surprise to anybody that what you hear on the news is never going to be the full picture. I'll start at the beginning, just to give an idea of why I accessed Dr Webberley's service in the first place.
When I finally admitted that I was unhappy with my gender, I went through CAMHS and was referred to the Tavistock and Portman Gender Identity Clinic for children in London. I was around 15 at this point. It was a long and tiring journey getting to the clinic, and honestly talking to the people there felt like banging your head against a brick wall. Contrary to what a lot of people here seem to think, not every person who goes through this is desperate to become the most outrageously stereotypical caricature of the other sex. I didn't have a desire to wear dresses all the time or wear lots of makeup, which I think the psychologists in London had a hard time understanding. There were months and months of waiting in between each hour-long appointment, which took up an entire day to get to, and nothing seemed to be moving. I was struggling more and more with school, and wanted desperately to go on to puberty blockers (whose effects are completely reversible).
At the age of 16 this would seem silly, as puberty is mostly done at this age. However I never really had any masculine features, which I later found out was because I had lower levels of testosterone and higher levels of oestrogen, but I didn't know that at the time. I was terrified that things would change, that one day I would wake up with hair on my face and a deep voice and feel even more alienated by my own body. Still, the people at London were reluctant as ever to do anything; they just wanted to talk about it.
On the one hand, I think that's understandable, given how much backlash there would be if the individual changed their mind. Most people would agree that there needs to be some kind of process which ensures they make the right decision for the patient. Unfortunately, because of how specialist this area is and the demands on the NHS already, this process can be dangerously lengthy. The time between each appointment can be months! We eventually realised we were getting nowhere, and I would soon be discharged from the service when I turned 18, and so we stopped going and I got on to the waiting list for the adult gender clinic in Northamptonshire.
In August of last year, I was in a very bad place. I was 17, and had already dropped out of sixth form after the first day. I felt freakish, and I just wasn't coping. I've never been one for seeking out support groups, or charities to do with gender issues. Part of this is because I'm adamant that I won't let these issues define me, but mainly I had an incredibly supportive family anyway, and I didn't feel like I needed to be part of another "community" - I don't relate to the extroverted, out and proud people we see on screen, and who most people think represent everyone else. I'm quite a normal, everyday, vanilla person really, and so I fit in perfectly fine with everybody, in one big community. I don't like to differentiate myself from everybody else, which is why I don't refer to myself as a transgender woman, but as a woman.
Anyway, I digress; I don't usually seek out charities, but out of desperation I had a look on the Mermaids website around this time in August. It was here that I found a link to Dr Webberley's GenderGP service, and I got in touch. At this point I was ready to seek out hormones.
30 seconds later, I had the prescription in my hands, and I was off to the pharmacy.... Not! That would be absurd.
Over email, I explained to Dr Webberley how I was feeling, and my past history with the NHS gender clinic. and CAMHS. She explained to me that because I was under 18, she had an even greater duty of care to me. She asked me to fill in a detailed medical history form, and to arrange a face-to-face appointment with one of her counsellors, Avril, in a few weeks time. I spoke with her for a little over an hour, and I was completely honest with how I was feeling; that I don't have a desire to wear pink frilly dresses, that something inside me feels innately mismatched with the outside, and even if I can never entirely overcome that feeling, I need to do all that I can to feel like I am living genuinely. She said that if there was any doubt in her mind that this was the right decision, she would not recommend me for hormones, but as this was not the case she agreed that hormones would be the best thing for me.
I got back in touch with Dr Webberley a few days later, and she said that due to my age she wanted to have a face-to-face appointment herself with me in Abergavenny. During this she explained how the hormones would work, the risks, and she asked me to take an extensive blood test to check my liver function, full blood count, hormone levels and all sorts, to ensure I was safe to take the medication. She also gave me an informed consent form to sign, which was pages and pages long, and explained the risks, side effects, and everything to do with the hormones in a great amount of detail. Once I had read that, and my bloods were fine, she began communicating with my local GP. They agreed to work together to provide my care; as the specialist, Dr Webberley would monitor my hormone levels, and get them to a point where they are medically safe, and my GP would prescribe the medication Dr Webberley recommended, and send me for blood tests on a regular basis to get the correct dosage. In September 2016, I began taking my hormones. By this point I had been out of education and had practically isolated myself socially for almost 3 years. Last month I started my first part-time job, and 2 weeks ago I enrolled to restart my A-Levels at college in September, and am aiming for the Education course at Cambridge Uni. Though I still have a long way to go as far as my confidence is concerned, there is no comparing where I am now to how I was before I met Dr Webberley.
I'm still on the waiting list for the NHS adult gender clinic in Northampton, who will take over my hormone monitoring from Dr Webberley once I see them. It was supposed to be a 10 month wait, and it has been exactly 10 months, and I probably wont be seen for another 6, due to increasing pressures on the service. If I was waiting for them to prescribe me hormones, I'm not sure where I would be today. I absolutely credit Dr Webberley with getting my life back on track; she fills a void the NHS is failing to - providing timely care for vulnerable people who desperately need it. I don't believe she's in it for the money. We pay her less than the cost of a family takeaway a month for her specialist knowledge, and she will answer any worry, question or concern anybody has within 48 hours free of charge. I'm not sure I know of any private medical care which is that reasonably priced!
Ultimately, I can only describe how I have found Dr Webberley, and that is an extremely caring and compassionate woman who recognises the shortcomings of the NHS in this area and is doing her best to address them. She was always going to be controversial, and in providing this service she puts her neck on the line time and time again. I can't speak for anybody else, but at least in my experience she was definitely not reckless in her care for me; in fact, she seemed more pragmatic and sensible than just about anybody else I have come in to contact with.
I disagree that people who don't understand, or for religious or moral reasons don't wish to accept, issues people can have with their gender, are immediately bigots. We all see the world in different ways; I would always welcome any questions that are not hateful or invasive, as I think that discussing these things is the best way for people to get on with each other. I don't have an agenda, I'm just an ordinary person born with a condition that I wish I could understand, but I don't. I certainly didn't choose it, and I'm not mentally deranged or deluded. If there are any more insights in to my experience with Dr Webberley's service that I can give, then I would be happy to - just let me know.
Thanks :)