“Trans” kids 7: Private Health Care

Parents experiences with Private Providers

The main reason for accessing private healthcare was the long waiting times to access NHS Care. Some of the parents accessed private providers in response to these waiting times and are dismayed when the NHS won’t take over the care.

For some they access private health care because the procedure desired is not available on the NHS. One of the parents, Jan, paid for her son’s facial feminisation surgery for that reason. Others, like Andrew and Lesley, below, feel any delay may result in catastrophic mental health issues and even a premature death; which I am assuming is a reference to the fear of suicide.

The parents feel desperately that their children need to be on hormone blockers and one parent considered going as far afield as Boston. (I am assuming she means Norman Spack’s clinic which is the one accessed by Susie Green, of Mermaids).

One parent paid a private provider because GIDS protocol is that cross-sex hormones are not available for under 16’s. She did not think she could make her daughter wait that long for testosterone. Her daughter had her puberty blocked at 13. She thinks making her child wait until she is 18 would be the act of a really ”awful parent”. She is certain her daughter will not change her mind. The last sentence appears to show some level of awareness that her daughter may regret this in her thirties which suggests she is not as certain as she stated.

She elaborates on her decision and is aware that she will be criticised for going against NHS protocols and even labelled a child abuser, however her daughter is very mature.

Lesley talks about the shared care arrangements for her child and her fear of suicide if she delayed acting.

A mother and father also raise the spectre of suicide which prompted them to go private. {Threatening suicide is something on-line forums recommend as a strategy to trans-identifying youth}.

Ross believes threatening to go private helped him get care on the NHS:

Things were not always plain sailing. Lesley’s daughter was an in-patient in a mental health facility who clearly had misgivings about the testosterone. They were also not impressed with the independent provider which is hardly surprising given that detransitioners have described them as the wild west of transgender medicine.

Here a couple describe the blockers as a ”puberty pause” which is yet more misinformation.

Here parents found the GIDs service unable to reach a diagnosis so opted to go private.

The parents robustly defend their decision as they are ”educated people” and know the risks. They seem to prize her being able to look how she wanted and not have to worry about the perceptions of other people.

Leigh expresses the view that the private sector acted too fast but, in any case, her daughter could not access this as she was in foster care. Interestingly Kate talks of wanting an ”impartial assessment” which perhaps shows some awareness of the financial motives of private providers.

In summary parents who put their children on puberty blockers are heavily identified with having a transgender child. For males the impact on male genitalia (stunted growth) makes it almost unthinkable for your son to detransition. The impact of male puberty is terrifying to these parents so they are very anxious to access cross-sex hormones. I am going to wager that private providers are more amenable to ”affirming” care given the financial incentive. Additionally this section of the research is yet more evidence of co-morbidities of mental health issues.

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