NHS to scrap care for Transsexual people.
Are trans campaigners Press for Change to blame?
Oxfordshire PCT are latest to scrap gender reassignment surgical (GRS) procedures
http://www.oxfordshire.nhs.uk/documents/18bGenderDysphoria.pdf Click here to read it: HERE
In recent years the un-elected 'trans' campaign group Press for Change has deliberately devalued the status of Transsexuality as a medical condition. They have attempted to portray transsexual people as simply having a sexual orientation or a crossdressing fetish, similar to being gay or lesbian or even transvestite.
This notion is completely incorrect. A gay man's sexual orientation is towards another man, and a lesbian is attracted to other women. So by PfC's reasoning, if correct, a transsexual person would be attracted to another transsexual person. That is clearly not the case.
Transsexual people are attracted to sexual partners the same way as everyone else is. Some may be straight, homosexual or bisexual, dependent on their own sexual orientation, and irrespective of their born condition of transsexuality.
And, If transsexuality was simply a sexual fetish there would be no desire to embark on a life long hormone regime and generally turn their lives, and those of their families, upside down, and most importantly obtain genital reconstruction surgery - just for the sexual thrill of it. The truth is, and it has been recognised for decades, that transsexuality is not sexual or indeed sexy. It is a painful, debilitating medical from birth defect that can best be described as an intersex condition.
The reason behind this aberration of the truth promoted by self serving PfC is because it suits their aims, that of latching on to the LGB movement to gain a louder political voice from riding on their coat tails. In this regard they have been very successful. It also seems, to many transsexual people, that personal pursuit of power for the individual members of PfC was also a very real driving force. The individuals concerned have certainly not been adverse to collecting Government honours and accepting highly paid Government positions for themselves in return for their sell out of transsexual people, particularly the part they played in the disgraceful Gender Recognition Act 2004.
Meanwhile, self styled 'trans' leaders, PfC, not content with forcibly including thousands of transsexual people into a 'homosexual' category that they may be adverse to, have also encouraged the inclusion of transvestite, transgender and even drag queens in to the same category. This unwilling and incongruent alliance is designated collectively by a 'T' and tacked on the end of the LGB anachronism to form LGBT. It's clear what PfC have got from this union, but many LGB people are beginning to wake up to the fact their own political movement has been highjacked for PfC's own purposes. LGB have been suckered!
For PfC It is not a new strategy to use others for their own gain. They have been doing this with genuine transsexual people for years while having absolutely no mandate to do so.
But getting back to LGB & 'T.' There has been a huge cost to genuine transsexual people for this erroneous amalgamation. It has resulted in the NHS and the Government happily conniving in the myth that transsexual people are simply gay, which of course is not a medical condition that requires a medical solution. That saves money! Which of course pleases the Government and NHS.
NHS Primary Care Trusts are increasingly deciding to opt out of providing GRS (Gender Reassignment Surgery) and that is sadly the logical outcome of 'trans' campaigning group PfC's actions.
NHS Commissioning Boards are also attempting to justify the removal of not just surgical intervention in the treatment of transsexual patients, but any treatment at all, because non-op 'trans' people are now given legal gender recognition.
The (non surgical requirement) legal gender recognition came about due to PfC insistence, particularly from Stephen Whittle (who's support comes from the transmen that make up a tiny but very vocal part of the transsexual population). He persuaded the Government that this is fairer to those transsexual people who cannot have surgery due to dangerous pre existing medical problems.
As we know this unfortunate group is minuscule. It seems illogical to pass legislation that helps a tiny part of the transsexual population to the detriment of the rest. What similar example of legislation exists? But, the legislation does conveniently suits transmen in particular because many do not want the painful and expensive surgery required to create a penis.
It is suspected by some that actually a lot of transmen are simply lesbians who wish to legally present as men simply for the benefits that can bring, while keeping themselves physically female and thus able to switch back and forth as the mood and circumstances takes them.
This having your cake, eating it, and not even paying for it, approach, is not surprisingly popular with non transsexual 'trans' people. A lot of transvestite men have also cottoned on to this wheeze that legitimises their crossdressing, while allowing them to keep their sexual organs intact to enjoy their fetish. This in turn provides more 'trans' supporters to PfC, and so on. Unfortunately, It also unfairly leads to alienation of genuine transsexual people who have no wish to switch back and forth between the sexes. The legislation intended for transsexual people is in fact anti transsexual, and brings shame and confusion to the transsexual condition. The UK is now the only country in the world where a legally recognised man can give birth. And a legally recognised woman can commit rape with 'her' penis.
This all makes a mockery of transsexual people who have a genuine medical need. GRS is the most important (and most expensive) fundamental part of treatment for transsexual people. There are very few genuine transsexual people who would not wish to have their bodies surgically corrected to match their brains and perception of themselves. Those who claim to be transsexual but choose not to have surgery really cannot be genuine and are much more likely to be transvestites or the indeterminate 'trans' people with a sexual enjoyment of their fetish. With the benefit of modern surgical techniques it is extremely disingenuous for anyone who claims to be transsexual to choose to be non op. In fact the stated wish to have surgery should be an obvious core requirement of a transsexual diagnosis
Press for Change have handed the NHS the excuses they needed.
The preferred treatment for diagnosed transsexual people, ever since the condition was scientifically identified in the 1950's by Harry Benjamin has always been sex change surgery combined with a life long (opposite birth sex) hormone regime. This straightforward treatment has been proven to be 97% effective. Very few other medical solutions to a condition can claim that kind of success rate.
So if treatment is so effective why is there a problem? There are several reasons, not least the critical role in who does the diagnosis. Transsexual people claim their brains are opposite sex to their physical body, this can be proven as correct, and has been shown in clinical studies carried out in Holland. Unfortunately the research can only be performed once the transsexual person is dead and the brain dissected. Traditionally, transsexual people have diagnosed themselves. Self diagnosis is fraught with danger so there has to be a further confirmation of diagnosis before referral to surgery to protect those non transsexual people who claim to be suffering the condition bu are in fact sexually motivated or suffering a mental disorder. For that reason the most successful method of diagnosis confirmation has been to use short term cross sex hormone treatment as a diagnostic tool. A transvestite man or someone suffering from a psychosexual disorder soon loses the attraction to living and dressing as a woman, for example, when they lose the ability to have an erection and reach orgasm during crossdressing masturbation. While a genuine male to fem transsexual will feel great benefit from the suppression of testosterone and male sex drive. This kind of short term hormone treatment can be carried out for up to 3 months without any physical long lasting ill effects to the body.
So, that seems simple enough? Except simple inexpensive solutions do not suit the commercially driven psychiatric profession. Psychiatrists want clients, whether in the NHS or private, it's their daily bread, what pays the mortgage. Shrinks have been getting an ever decreasing portion of the population to 'work with' since the 1960's. At that time they could rely on the homosexuals and the unmarried mothers as part of their caseloads, but now those people are not deemed mentally ill. Just different. The atheists and pacifist s have gone to! But fortunately for the shrinks there is still the 'trans' population.
Although no transsexual person has ever in the history of psychiatric health ever been cure of transsexualism through psychiatric treatment. Why? Because the only cure is surgery and hormones. Despite this, all NHS treatment for transsexualism is only available through Mental Health Departments. The reason the mental health professionals were initially involved was to weed out the non transsexual people and provide the help those people needed. Most transsexuali people, if not all, wish to be disassociated with mental health altogether. They have no need for it, theirs has always been a physical problem with a physical solution
PfC, as usual have undermined this basic argument. By aligning themselves so closely to 'trans' people and pretending that includes transsexuals, they have persuaded the Gov. and the rest of the UK NHS medical profession (neither of whom needed much persuasion) that transsexuality (being part of 'trans') is indeed a mental disorder rather than a physical problem that can be cured through surgery. Yet again they fail the transsexual people of the UK by misrepresenting them for their own ends.
This latest decision by Oxfordshire PCT comes hot on the heels of Hounslow PCT and Camden PCT who are also reported to be attempting to remove GRS from their core treatment service provision. Unofficially there are many more PCT's who simply ignore transsexual people or hide them on vague mental health waiting lists not covered by the Governments official time limits. These PCT's will be greatly encouraged by PfC's actions. For decades the NHS have been trying to include TS people in sexual orientation or mentally ill categories, thereby justifying offering no treatment for the former and relatively inexpensive and useless psychiatric treatment for the later. The PCT's do not want to spend money on expensive surgery that is politically unpopular. Press for Change have handed the NHS the excuses they needed.
NB. It is little known outside the transsexual community that PfC is in fact a tiny organisation consisting of a small group of friends (approx. six or seven individuals). PfC is also completely undemocratic and has absolutely no mandate to speak for transsexual people or anyone else for that matter. They have managed to hide these facts from the various Government bodies, the NHS and other campaign groups like Liberty and even the LGB factions they rely on for support. It is a scandal that PFC has given the impression to such organisation that they have widespread support from transsexual people. They do not.
PFC is also less than transparent when they say they campaign for TRANS people, what exactly that means. PfC includes not just transsexual people but transvestites with a sexual fetish cross dressers & drag queens. This is damaging, many of the public, while supportive of transsexual people with a medical need, are not so comfortable about whether the other groups, particularly the sexual fetishists, actually need Gov. legislative help. (Incidentally, none of the other groups: transvestite or drag queens, etc. asked PFC to campaign for them either, so they have no mandate to do so)
PfC, as well as being a completely undemocratic organisation is secretive. They have no elective process of membership, and they allow no open forum for policy contribution ideas from outside their tiny group. These facts, though known to some informed transsexual people are not known to the Government, the wider public, most LGB campaign and the religious organisations the confront in debate.
In recent years it appears their (PfC) search for personal glory, Gov. advisory jobs and titles from the discredited parliamentary honours system has been more important than any real interest in seeking equality, justice and access to medical provision for transsexual people. In fact their actions have probably set back the case for TS people by 30 years at least, back to when Dr's simply assumed transsexuality to be another form of homosexuality or a sexual cross dressing fetish. Now we are beginning to see the results of the PfC's campaign, and it's the genuine transsexual people of Camden, Hounslow and Oxfordshire who are among the first to suffer, but they will not be the last unless the Government opens its eyes to who they have been dealing with.
No one should be under any illusions that PfC represents anyone except themselves!
2007-03-18 01:09:14
·
answer #4
·
answered by elodie3620 1
·
1⤊
1⤋