Women are getting non essential NHS treatments like IVF are being stopped across the country. My Trust stopped doing it for anyone some years ago, whilst people in neighbouring trusts (and living less than 5miles away) are eligible.
I have a friend who wanted a breast reduction on the NHS for back pain and psychological reasons refused. She went private after finding that the NHS were very hostile to pretty much anyone because of budget cuts.
There are dozens of threads on MN about women wanting a CS on the NHS for birth trauma or because they have history of sexual assault or rape or for other medical (including psychological) reasons, be refused and have to battle the NHS to get on which many find traumatic in its own right. A few NHS trusts refuse to grant them as a matter of principle leading to women having to track down a trust which is sympathetic some distance away.
That's just off the top of my head, but yeah whilst everything else is being cut back from hip replacements for pensioners to surgery for smokers, these people think they have a good case for the NHS to splurge money without an scrutiny or assessment of need.
Now whilst I find that manifesto terrifying, I also think the idea that they will get this pretty much as delusional as anything else that comes out.
ANY medical treatment on the NHS has to pass the NICE which has to do a cost assessment and assess whether there is a health cost benefit to performing it. In other words science has to vet. And if it's a medical treatment, then people have to be assessed for need if only to pass ethics and protect doctors doing it.
The idea that this will happen even with the powerful trans lobby, when the trans lobby is resistant to this type of research makes my mind boggle. Especially when they themselves say that being trans isn't a medical issue and they don't want it treated as a psychological problem.
This is one sure fire way to attract scrutiny of the type the trans lobby are desparate to avoid.
And besides all this, someone presently makes money from private ops and hormones. With demand increasing do you think they'll just relinquish their market and potential business? There is a huge rival lobby group waiting in the wings...
Trusts are already ignoring NHS recommendations on many things. Even if a very left wing Labour government got in, I seriously struggle to see this happening.
Political reality can a nasty habit of reading it's ugly head.
There isn't the resources to do it - I don't just mean money. The changes required to enable it, are huge. It's money, specialists, facilities, research and public support for seeing it as priority when there are all these other health issues and social problems associated with an aging population.
15 - 20 years down the line, when it might start to be a possibility, the shit will be starting to hit the fan. All the kool aid kids will be middle aged with kids of their own...
We shall see, but as I say, whilst I am very wary and take the threat of this seriously, there are some bloody huge barriers here.
And I get shit on MN for suggesting that women should be more gobby and demand the very BASIC levels of health care, and told I'm unrealistic and we should just suck it up. My response is always why should women? Men wouldn't accept it. And look here, what's this? Male entitlement in all its glory.
Quite aside from the trans issue women should get mouthy NOW about medical issues to get into the queue for the socialist NHS splurge.