Trans people are finding it harder to access life-saving treatment
Reports of treatment being refused or withdrawn are on the rise – and no official figures exist to track the issue. THIS ARTICLE FIRST APPEARED ON TBIJ (THE BUREAU OF INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM) REPORTER BILLIE GAY JACKSON BUREAU LOCAL EDITOR GARETH DAVIES DEPUTY EDITOR KATIE MARK EDITOR FRANZ WILD PRODUCTION EDITOR JOSEPHINE LETHBRIDGE FACT CHECKER RACHEL SCHRAER The text message Emily* received from her GP practice was life-changing.
Emily, who is transgender, was first prescribed hormone replacement therapy (HRT) two years ago. It had enabled her life to feel “ordinary”.
Suddenly her prescription had been stopped. The message explained that the GP practice was unable to “safely support ongoing prescribing or monitoring” of the “specialist drug”.
If Emily wanted a new prescription, she would have to go private – a cost she could not afford. In recent months the Bureau of Investigative Journalism’s (TBIJ) Trans+ Voices team discovered that some trans+ people, like Emily, have had HRT refused or withdrawn.
