Northern Ireland Gender Identity Clinic has no new patients in a year - fake news?

[stumbledin]

I saw this headline from Pink News and actually couldn't make sense of the article, and it really seems to be one of those lets ramp up the matyrdom and get all our celeb / politician fans to quote it. www.pinknews.co.uk/2019/07/30/northern-irelands-gender-identity-clinic-takes-no-new-patients-in-over-a-year/

But a BBC articlecovering some of the same period says there has been an increase in gender re-assignment surgery in NI. But the problem is that because of the failure of Storemont to meet and take decisions. (This has also impacted funding of women's refuges for instance.) www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-45477910

I suppose it is no surprise that Pink News would go in for spin, but it seems they just keep piling on the pressure, and with so few media outlets challenging the trans narrative is gets very wearing.

And if this petition to Parliament to have a public inquiry into media transphobia dont suppose many will be putting their hear above the parapet. petition.parliament.uk/petitions/266491

Sad to say this petition has got twice the number of signaturies compared to the one asking for an inquire into the influence of Stonewall of political consultations. petition.parliament.uk/petitions/265794

Brackenburn Clinic is seeing current patients, those are the patients getting the surgery referenced by the BBC, but Brackenburn has not taken a new patient in over a year. This is not fake news, it is a reality that trans individuals have to deal with in Northern Ireland. If you check reddit you will see people discussing being on the waiting list for nearly two years (thread is three months old).

This article from 2017 says there is a waiting time of over a year, and the service has gotten worse since then, especially with the government devolving, as you mentioned, so funds are not being allocated.

The BBS article covers 17/18 considering it is now 2019, that means is it perfectly feasible for a year to have elapsed between that statistic and now. Calling it 'martyrdom' shows you did not share this information in good faith. These ridiculous waiting times are why people are (dangerously) self medicating. The wait and see with support approach only works if there is support in place, waiting times of up to 3 years is not reasonable and is in violation of NHS guidelines. But sure, call it martyrdom.

Well in N Ireland the waiting time for many NHS appointments is at least a couple of years so why would this be any different?

You can straw man my argument if you want, but I was just challenging the OP's assertion that the waiting times were fake news trying to garner sympathy.

It's not a straw man. The tone of the report is that transgender people are being treated less favourably than other people in the NI health service. They're not, they have the same waiting lists as everyone else.

This is not fake news, it is a reality that trans individuals have to deal with in Northern Ireland. If you check reddit you will see people discussing being on the waiting list for nearly two years (thread is three months old).

So what? Do you think trans people are the only people stuck on waiting lists with no end in sight?
They're being treated exactly like everyone else. Or do you think the NHS should divert extra money to them because of course trans issues are way more important than anyone else's medical issues aren't they? 😡

Have a look on the special needs board, there you'll see people waiting two/three/four/five years to get an autism assessment. And a similarly long fight to get services such as speech and occupational therapy. You know, people with actual real problems that the NHS should be providing support and treatment for. And it's the same all over the UK. News flash, other people have problems too you know.
This is what really ticks me off about the trans movement. The complaining about waiting lists and the constant bandying around of the "suicide risk."
Guess what, autistic people have an actual documented increased risk of suicide yet there's nowhere near the same level of awareness about that. And forget about waiting lists, in some places there's no support to access at all for autistic adults. But somehow nobody gives a fuck about that. Wonder why that is?

The wait and see with support approach only works if there is support in place...

Although i agree with this i dont see as anything can be done. As others have pointed out waiting times with the NHS are long. The fact staff resignations in this area seen to be shockingly high doesnt help. The proffessionals need to be alliwed to do their jobs without preasure from lobbyists.

It would also help dremendously if comorbidities could be treated while waiting. However as trans has been pushed as a fix all, comorbidities are ignored and they have to wait for specialists. Again lobbyists at fault.

Yes this is waiting times that the rest of us have to live with so actually it is annoying for them to think they deserve special attention. I waited 6 years for an autism referral for my DD, during which time she developed serious MH issues. We went private in the end. And if we consider how women with women’s health issues are treated, it’s even worse than this- 11 year average time for a woman to wait for an endometriosis diagnosis, and don’t expect much support when you do get one. If you’ve got a thyroid issue, you may never get a diagnosis because the NHS is so far behind in its knowledge and treatment. A thyroid issue affects every cell in your body and the list of symptoms is in the hundreds. Two years, or more, is not that long when you consider the long term effects. Maybe if the lobbyists left them alone to do their job and research this area properly, treatment time would be shortened.

Documented evidence shows that a high percentage of children that are confused about their "gender" at the onset of puberty grow out of it if left without treatment. Maybe longer waiting times are better, then we can be sure we are treating the right people rather than this rush to affirm stereotypes?

My DS was (is)* on a 2 year waiting list for a diagnosis of ADHD. There's no evidence ADHD goes away if left alone and we are not mad enough to buy medication over the internet.

*He's been privately diagnosed but the NHS clinic seems to want to "approve" the - also working in the NHS - psychiatrist's diagnosis.

Where did I say it was ok that other waiting lists weren't long? Or that trans patients should take priority? I was arguing against the initial assertion that the clinic not taking on new patients in over a year was fake news. But sure, go off.

I didn't mean adhd or any recognised issue drspouse. I meant the rush to affirm gender non conforming kids. Trans has been removed from mh issues AFAIK.
The NHS is in crisis, I have friends on waiting lists for urgent cancer treatment. And friends with kids waiting on seeing mh professionals.