17 Dec 2018

Transgender healthcare 'inconsistent' - will guidelines help?

From Nine To Noon, 9:08 am on 17 December 2018

Healthcare professionals have created a new set of guidelines for transgender people in the hope they'll go some way to address what's been called 'gross disparities' in access to treatments around the country.

At the moment services for trans people like hormonal therapy, surgical procedures, fertility preservation, and mental health support are patchy.

The authors of the new guidelines: 'Gender Affirming Healthcare for Gender Diverse and Transgender Children, Young People and Adults in Aotearoa New Zealand', say there's an urgent need for DHBs around the country to up their game and want clinicians to know what "best practice" looks like. Kathryn Ryan talks to the  lead author Dr Jeannie Oliphant, and Gloria Fraser who is doing a PHD at Victoria University and has been researching the uniformity of access for transgender people.