Thought I would add to the dumpster fire that is trans healthcare in Australia and I just want to say that if you folk think that our affirmative care plan is so good, have you ever like me been required to go to 9 separate appointments, often with little choice of what times 1/8
— Chloe Holmes (@_chloeeholmes) August 22, 2022
This is a direct transliteration from my tweets. I will edit this later.
Thought I would add to the dumpster fire that is trans healthcare in Australia and I just want to say that if you folk think that our affirmative care plan is so good, have you ever like me been required to go to 9 separate appointments, often with little choice of what times. (This was at Monash Gender Clinic) I asked once if I could have an appointment and my choices were in a week or 3 months time. Been required to answer very personal questions without much basis on my gender identity. Been forced to fill out countless dumb gender questionnaires. I was also forced to write a letter detailing my 'trans experiences' which mostly required me to pretend to be as feminine as possible because if i wasn't feminine enough they wouldn't let me have access to HRT. This further cements the dumb femininity requirement. It wasn't until NINE appointments later over the span of 2 years that I finally got approved for HRT, this was also because I decided to DIY my own HRT from my detransitioner partner at the time who got HRT and sent to me supporting me in my transition. I think having my detransitioner partner at the time support me more in my transition than actual so-called 'affirmative care' doctors speaks wonders to the kind of support we need to give trans people. I had countless nights before that where I attempted suicide due to my lack of access to hormone replace therapy. Having to sit through 9 appointments, 1 long letter, 3-4 consent forms over the span of 2 years is the kind of thing some people want me to have to endure.
This is why I constantly fight for easier access for people. No one should be forced to wait that long for necessary care. But this is what transphobic people fight for. They fight for longer wait times (or ban). Saying it is easy for someone to get HRT is true in some circumstances but SOME, not all. Trans health care is broken due to lack of support and we should fix it.
ADDENDUM: Dates which I was required to see a gender therapist.
Gender therapist - 4/12/17, 4/12/17, 20/12/17, 10/01/18, 24/01/18, 07/02/18, 11/12/18, 08/04/19, 08/05/19
First endo appointment - 30/09/19
Consent form - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1M7sJU2Zdd10bGMUs21KzeySeA8LAi-HI/
ADDENDUM 2: oh oh oh and another thing. The wait time at Monash before even a psych would see you when I went was like 2 months but I hear for some people now its like 1-2 years