Members of Trans rights campaign group Trans Actual have hand-delivered an open letter to NHS Health Secretary Sajid Javid demanding that he urgently put measures in place to address the continued failure of the NHS to provide vital phalloplasty or metoidioplasty surgeries to trans men and non-binary individuals.
Like many other operations, these two key gender confirming surgeries were put on hold at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, despite most other ‘elective’ surgeries re-starting in April this year, those waiting for phalloplasty or metoidioplasty surgeries have yet to hear when they will start again.
Reportedly the continuing delay is due to a decision by NHS Specialist Commissioning to withdraw a contract to perform these surgeries without putting alternative provision in place.
Campaigners have highlighted that the failure to restart provision has left hundreds of trans men and non-binary people facing a desperate wait to undergo life-saving operations, many of whom are now ‘stuck’ between stages of surgery or are awaiting surgery to repair painful and life-limiting complications.
The debacle with NHS phallo and meta commissioning continues and the NHS have done nothing to support those impacted. Trans Actual
What is phalloplasty?
Phalloplasty is a surgery used to create a penis.
What is metoidioplasty?
Metoidioplasty is a surgery that uses a person’s existing genital tissue to create a penis.
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