Borrowed from Casper's lj
Oxfordshire PCT has decided that just having gender dysphoria and demonstrating the criteria that any other PCT would need to start treatment isn't enough. Exceptional circumstances are needed, and other illnesses have to have been caused by this condition. The bar is set very high, far higher than it is in other UK areas. There's a detailed paper on this [here
] but in (very brief) summary:
-Oxfordshire PCT has decided to classify this illness as merely a low priority 'psychological state', which needs not have treatment funded until it has caused other severe health problems. These actually disbar surgery, so if you get a referral then you won't get the surgery.
-It is unlawful to make this kind of policy decision as it effectively bars transsexualism from treatment (as per The Parliamentary Forum on Transsexualism)
-Other PCTs in the region do not require "exceptional circumstances" to be proved before authorising treatment for this.
So, Basically, to explain the Catch-22 levels of IDIOCY, it boils down to the following.
Gender reassignment, in the UK, is mediated through specialist clinics. For the south of England, the specialist clinc is at Charing Cross Hospital in London. In order for Charing Cross to put you forward for surgery, you have to demonstrate that you are functioning day-to-day, living in your target gender.
In order to get funding out of Oxfordshire PCT, you have to demonstrate "extreme need" - and pretty much the only way to do this is to be so depressed as to be at risk of suicide. A state of mental health which then makes you ineligible for treatment by Charing Cross.
Oxfordshire PCT will only fund your gender reassignment when your condition, through non-treatment, has made you too ill to undergo surgery.
If you are currently living in the UK - please sign this petition. You do need to be in the UK and give your name and address to sign it, but that is a standard part of all official UK e-petitions: [Petition at number10.gov.uk
] (oh, and it can take a while for the signature list to be refreshed, so don't panic!)
Can we propagate this too? It needs 200 signatures to be taken seriously, but the amount of seriousness one gets for 200 is nowhere near the amount one gets for a lot more. Feel free to link to this post or cut/paste bits into your own journals and blogs. If you've already seen this due to mutual friends, apoliges for showing this to you once more, but on the chance I reach those who haven't seen it, please....C&P this to your own LJ. It won't take long.