Indigo Gender Clinic Manchester

[happydappy2]

New Clinic open, run specifically by trans/non binary people for trans/non binary people. Will treat those aged 17 and above. Offering hormones, voice coaching, hair removal etc. Referrals for surgery....
17 Is extremely young-I hope they will offer proper therapy as well.

Privately?

NHS funded

How is someone being 'Nonbinary' a matter for the NHS?
I'm not being sarky, I really don't know.

Because if you're a non binary female you need a mastectomy

Why do non-binary people need hormones?

@Cabinfever10

Because if you're a non binary female you need a mastectomy

But non-binary men just need to wear a dress, I think. No surgery required.

Because if you're a non binary female you need a mastectomy

Yes - I’ll need a double mastectomy on days I am wearing jeans/t-shirt and trainers and doing some DIY, but I’ll need my boobs back when I’m wearing a dress/heels and my lippy.

So 50/50 boobs on and off?

Is this the one that was recruiting a while ago and asked for 'affirming' practitioners only?
And referrals for surgery? Russell Reid style, I suspect.

Interesting that they don't view this as exclusionary to define who they want in terms of exact characteristics to employ to best serve the interests of clients with specific needs based on those characteristics.

If female people try doing this they're under an onslaught of trying to harass them, disrupt them, force them to look aside from the specific needs of their clientele to incorporate people who want to be included whether or not they're the best choice for said clientele's needs -

Wonder why it's not ok for female groups to do this according to trans/non binary groups, but definitely ok for trans/non binary groups to do? And ok for men's groups to do?

What's the justification there?

Some people seem to employ a lot of effort into being their "authentic self" whilst others can just wake up that morning and decide to put a dress on.

@rozwatching - do you have a link to them seeking only affirmative staff?

Surely this affirmative only approach isn't ok after the court judgement? Particularly with public money. I'd like to see it illegal to perform surgeries on under 18s, who after all are still children. And perhaps the same level of resistance to doing so that is applied to women asking for a hysterectomy. In any event the NHS shouldn't be funding an affirmative only clinic.

Steve
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/4052716-New-NHS-Gender-Clinic-recruiting

18 is still way too young imo, though I realise it's a tricky one because they are viewed as adults.

Not to derail the thread, but I took my (then) 18 year old to one of the open meetings about the surrogacy consultation and raised an objection to their proposal for a minimum age of 18 to be a surrogate. There was a very aggressive, entitled couole there, (who want to use a surrogate) and the man angrily retorted to me that they were adults at that age and capable of making their own decisions. I mortified my daughter by pointing to her and asking if it would be appropriate to use her, newly out of school and visibly very young. She did later comment (and I helped her fill in a reply to the consultation, saying this) that although she was technically an adult she felt that young women her age were still very vulnerable, could easily be coerced and deserved continuing protection from (older) adults.

The same applies here.

(Also to a range of other situations, eg young adults moving out of care, I think it is now recognised that they need ongoing support?)

Sorry to derail, I just give this by way of an example. It is problematic having a default age of attainment of adulthood.

@FannyCann good for you for speaking up!

While yes, 18 is the age of adulthood, there's plenty of reasons why we strive to have unbiased professionals mentor, advise and counsel young adults in all matter of things- from financial decisions to marriage to buying a home to career...it's because some life choices at 18 can be terribly naive. Having a biased group counseling young adults on irreversible choices is problematic. We wouldn't like it if it were a predatory financial lender taking advantage of young people to go into debt and we don't encourage 17 year olds to get married or make other serious life decisions.

As they say they are targeting people awaiting a GIDs appointment and who have dysphoria, I do hope there is a strong non-directive ethos within their service aimed at this vulnerable group

www.gmcvo.org.uk/news/indigo-gender-service-–-new-nhs-adult-gender-dysphoria-service-greater-manchester

Then LGBT foundation, who are involved in this service talk about ‘trans adults’ with ‘gender incongruence’. So they use a non-medicalised term unlike ‘dysphoria’, and promote Indigo as an ‘affirmative’ service, yet it also says in their FAQS they will be able to offer referral for top surgery. To a client group aged 17+.

lgbt.foundation/news/gtd-healthcare-and-lgbt-foundation-to-launch-new-adult-trans-health-service-in-greater-manchester/389

We are proud to announce that Indigo Gender Service, a new NHS adult gender service pilot, will be launching in Greater Manchester later this year. Indigo Gender Service will provide the services offered by the seven existing gender identity clinics, but in a non-specialised and primary care setting.

Indigo Gender Service is a partnership between gtd healthcare, a not-for-profit organisation with an established presence of primary care and urgent care services in the north-west, and LGBT Foundation, a national charity delivering services, advice and information for lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans communities.

We know that trans and non-binary people are the experts of their own experience, and that is why this service has been developed by and for trans communities. Our services are trans led, with trans and non-binary people guiding and feeding into them at all levels.
...
Our service will offer trans and non-binary people different ways to access support services, including assessment and diagnosis for gender incongruence. This includes holistic assessments of an individual’s needs and will offer referrals and signposting to other services.

Our support is person centred – we recognise that there are as many ways to be trans and non-binary as there are trans and non-binary people in the world and we tailor our support to meet each person’s individual needs. A team of care navigators with lived experience will work with service users to help them to get the most out of the service and enable them to connect with local organisations across Greater Manchester.
...
We want to make sure that care is safe, inclusive and affirmative. We will do this by supporting trans and non-binary people to be well informed about their choices by sharing knowledge, explaining options, promoting health, and trusting people to make decisions that are right for them.

We’re taking a multidisciplinary approach to care, bringing together knowledge and expertise from different fields and backgrounds to ensure our service delivers the highest quality care to trans communities. Indigo Gender Service will be staffed by an experienced primary care team from the Greater Manchester healthcare system and will also receive clinical support from the gender identity clinic at Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.

Indigo Gender Service is planned to open later this year. The service will initially focus on supporting people who are on a waiting list for a gender identity clinic appointment, are already registered with a GP in Greater Manchester and are eligible for NHS treatment.

Then in the FAQS:

Can I obtain top surgery through Indigo?

When the service first launches, Indigo will be able to refer you to our linked GIC in Nottingham for an assessment for top surgery. After one year, we will be able to refer you for top surgery directly.

I believe many women who claim they are non-binary also take testosterone, albeit at lower doses than women who claim they are men.

Terrifying that someone like Keira might attend at 17, be given cross-sex hormones, then be referred directly for mastectomy after a year.

“Trans-led” seems well intentioned, but perhaps not a good idea, based on how much of this medicine is already dominated by those who have transitioned successfully and are therefore biased. I can understand help for women being led by women, or help for homosexuals being led by other homosexuals because of shared experience. But this is medical care directly related to a mental health problem and requires someone who is wholly rational to assess potential harms.

I hope I’m wrong and it is evidence based, high quality health care, packaged so as to avoid alarm to young people who might be suffering from mental health problems, but on the face of it, it sounds worryingly misguided.

I am assuming that post Covid, a major re-assessment of all parts of government will need to take place. The situation is dire and is now much much worse than after 1 lockdown. Trans has been argued as non-medical, in fact I think they are emphatic and that being the case, it will be very difficult for them to then argue that medical intervention is necessary, therefore tax payers might have a bit of an issue funding this rather than supporting those in poverty

I did some stupid things at 18 and made some disastrous decisions, based on typical teenaged reasons like enthusiasm, naive idealism, uncritically trusting people I admired, etc. Of course I thought I was right at the time.

@UppityPuppity

Because if you're a non binary female you need a mastectomy

Yes - I’ll need a double mastectomy on days I am wearing jeans/t-shirt and trainers and doing some DIY, but I’ll need my boobs back when I’m wearing a dress/heels and my lippy.

So 50/50 boobs on and off?

So this is a thing.... I literally just watched an episode of botched where a guy was asking for exactly this He wanted pectorial implants that could "convert" to cleavage and looked entirely crestfallen when advised it wasn't possible to get a convertible chest

The Manager of Indigo comes from a non-clinical background - their expertise seems to lie in offering workshops around empowerment and life-coaching. They have written a motivational book and offer leadership seminars for business leaders (glowing reviews from some high-powered female managers) I think there’s a big emphasis at Indigo on catering for diverse communities in terms of gender, ethnicity, sexuality. They themselves are a recently transitioned trans woman who affectionately refers (on Twitter) to their two partners in their polyamorous relationship as ‘pups’ and/or her ‘pack’. It feels like they’re trying to create a warm, family-like vibe to the service - it’s all couched in very gentle, non-medical, nurturing language.

Given that some people are waiting up to 4 years to get an appointment at a gender clinic, I think this is excellent news.

Curious if any female person 17 years or older who wants one could get a hysterectomy here? Does claiming to be gender free qualify you?