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transHi all.
I've been sending e-mails to the Patient Advice and Liaison Service ("PALS") about the level of funding transpeople are given in Sheffield. For those that are unfamiliar with trans treatment in Sheffield, patients are put on a waiting list for the Porterbrook Gender Identity Clinic. However, the waiting list is excessive. I have been waiting for my first appointment for four years, and I'm still waiting. Here's what I've learned through my questionning, to date.
- The Porterbrook GIC waiting list operates on a one-in, one-out basis; one patient is admitted to begin treatment only when one patient leaves.
- The PCT funds two new patients each year to begin treatment with the GIC.
- This amounts to just 6-7 patients actually receiving treatment at any time.
- Requests for referrals to other GICs such as the one at Charing Cross hospital are denied. Patients are only offered a referral to Porterbrook.
I've put the following questions to PALS regarding the funding level for the Porterbrook GIC, hoping to gain an insight into why the funding is so low as to allow waiting lists as bad as this:
) The PCT funds two candidates a year for treatment with the Porterbrook GIC. I believe that the resulting waiting time is unreasonable and contradicts published best practice guidelines. I also believe that the waiting times are among the longest in the country. How was this policy for funding formed, and what justification was used to support it?
2) I specifically requested a referral to a different GIC, that of the Charing Cross Hospital in London, as I was dissatisfied with the waiting times of the Porterbrook GIC. My request was denied, and my choice as a patient has been neglected. I understand that it is not the policy of the PCT to fund individuals' referrals to other GICs. Again, how is this policy formed and justified?
3) [PALS dude] states that the PCT can only prioritise patients on clinical grounds. Exactly how can an individual qualify for prioritisation, and how is this assessed if individuals who have already received care elsewhere are not offered an assessment?
However, all I've actually got is a description of how the waiting list operates and how many people are waiting for treatment. As for the reason behind the waiting list, well, that's down to the rate of admission and the average time it takes for people to complete treatment. Well, obviously, perhaps I've made this whole thing out to be more complex that I thought >_>; ...
More seriously, I really feel that somebody is answering different questions to the one I'm asking. I wanted some insight into how the funding is justified, and how policy is put together. I haven't been offered any, and I'm convinced that I should have access to this information so that I can properly challenge it. I have had this kind of response twice from PALS now, and I have no idea whether I am entitled to the answers I want or if somebody is covering their arse by being coy. Four years of waiting is among the longest in the country for an appointment, in some area waiting times are measured in months. There has to be someone, somewhere who is making sure that funding transpeople deserve (and are entitled to elsewhere) is being routed away.
Where can you help? Tell me if I am asking the right questions. Am I even asking the right people? Should I be more pressing in language, should I take my query higher to the trust itself? I'm completely lost, I feel like I've hit a dead-end. I want to hold my PCT accountable for their negligence, but I need to know what to do next.
I've been sending e-mails to the Patient Advice and Liaison Service ("PALS") about the level of funding transpeople are given in Sheffield. For those that are unfamiliar with trans treatment in Sheffield, patients are put on a waiting list for the Porterbrook Gender Identity Clinic. However, the waiting list is excessive. I have been waiting for my first appointment for four years, and I'm still waiting. Here's what I've learned through my questionning, to date.
- The Porterbrook GIC waiting list operates on a one-in, one-out basis; one patient is admitted to begin treatment only when one patient leaves.
- The PCT funds two new patients each year to begin treatment with the GIC.
- This amounts to just 6-7 patients actually receiving treatment at any time.
- Requests for referrals to other GICs such as the one at Charing Cross hospital are denied. Patients are only offered a referral to Porterbrook.
I've put the following questions to PALS regarding the funding level for the Porterbrook GIC, hoping to gain an insight into why the funding is so low as to allow waiting lists as bad as this:
) The PCT funds two candidates a year for treatment with the Porterbrook GIC. I believe that the resulting waiting time is unreasonable and contradicts published best practice guidelines. I also believe that the waiting times are among the longest in the country. How was this policy for funding formed, and what justification was used to support it?
2) I specifically requested a referral to a different GIC, that of the Charing Cross Hospital in London, as I was dissatisfied with the waiting times of the Porterbrook GIC. My request was denied, and my choice as a patient has been neglected. I understand that it is not the policy of the PCT to fund individuals' referrals to other GICs. Again, how is this policy formed and justified?
3) [PALS dude] states that the PCT can only prioritise patients on clinical grounds. Exactly how can an individual qualify for prioritisation, and how is this assessed if individuals who have already received care elsewhere are not offered an assessment?
However, all I've actually got is a description of how the waiting list operates and how many people are waiting for treatment. As for the reason behind the waiting list, well, that's down to the rate of admission and the average time it takes for people to complete treatment. Well, obviously, perhaps I've made this whole thing out to be more complex that I thought >_>; ...
More seriously, I really feel that somebody is answering different questions to the one I'm asking. I wanted some insight into how the funding is justified, and how policy is put together. I haven't been offered any, and I'm convinced that I should have access to this information so that I can properly challenge it. I have had this kind of response twice from PALS now, and I have no idea whether I am entitled to the answers I want or if somebody is covering their arse by being coy. Four years of waiting is among the longest in the country for an appointment, in some area waiting times are measured in months. There has to be someone, somewhere who is making sure that funding transpeople deserve (and are entitled to elsewhere) is being routed away.
Where can you help? Tell me if I am asking the right questions. Am I even asking the right people? Should I be more pressing in language, should I take my query higher to the trust itself? I'm completely lost, I feel like I've hit a dead-end. I want to hold my PCT accountable for their negligence, but I need to know what to do next.