People flocking for gender surgery after funding boost | Stuff.co.nz
Christel Yardley/Stuff
Lee Bloor thought she had to wait 40-years for gender-affirming genital surgery, but funding has seen that possibly brought forward.
The number of people wanting to access gender-affirming genital surgery has leapt more than 100% since the Government introduced a public funding service.
The service started on January 1, 2020, and the number of patients referred to the service increased by 160% between October 2018 and September 30th, 2020, with this number continuing to rise.
With $3million in funding announced in the Government’s 2019 budget as a response to a 50-year waiting list, demand is growing.
Te Whatu Ora group manager – planned care, hospital and specialist services, Duncan Bliss said the Gender Affirming genital Surgery service has been established to help more transgender and non-binary people access publicly-funded gender-affirming genital surgery in Aotearoa.
READ MORE:
* The fight for gender-affirming surgeries: 'I want to crawl out of my skin'
* Gender-affirming surgery not a 'nice to have' but 'absolutely essential'
* Rainbow Youth welcome Government funding for gender affirming surgery
He said there is currently one surgeon in New Zealand that is trained and capable of performing gender-affirming surgery.
The waiting list is for patients waiting to access a first specialist assessment (FSA) with the provider of gender-affirming genital surgery.
It is not a waiting list for surgery.
As of June 2023, there were 421 referrals for a first specialist assessment and out of that number 78 have had their appointment.
Te Whatu Ora
As of June 2023, there were 421 referrals for a first specialist assessment and out of that number 78 have had their appointment.
“Not all people referred and placed on the current waiting list meet surgical criteria, a significant number of people have not responded to attempts to contact, or are not providing the requested GP Health updates.”
She began to make the transition in her early 20s by taking hormones. She was preparing to be 66-years-old when she would get the call for assessment.
However, Bloor met with the surgeon in Wellington last week and is tentatively preparing for surgery in January.
“It was like wow I’ve waited this long, but I never expected it to be this quick. I knew they had more funding, but I didn’t expect it to be brought forward this much.” Read an in depth interview with Lee Bloor in the Waikato Times.
Bliss said due to the complex nature of these cases, it takes time to work through the assessment process.
Patients must also meet clinical surgical criteria and be assessed by the service provider prior to any agreed surgery being confirmed and undertaken.
“Although wait times remain long, waiting times for patients to access an FSA with the service provider have decreased. It may take between one and two years to proceed to surgery.
“The preparation time for surgery can be lengthy as patients may require weight loss, co-morbidities to be addressed, readiness assessment and/or hair removal prior to proceeding to surgery.”
The cost can vary from patient to patient Bliss said, as some patients may need more than one surgery, and some procedures are staged due to the complexity of the surgery and healing required between stages.