Experiences of health and care in Sheffield's trans community
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Healthwatch Sheffield decided to investigate the experiences of health and care in Sheffield's trans community after being contacted directly by trans and non-binary service users about the problems they were facing locally. This information was reinforced by organisations that support and represent the city's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) residents.
Healthwatch Sheffield contacted local groups that support LGBTQ adults and young people, SAYiT and Transactive, who agreed to work with them to collect experiences. Two focus groups were held on the 14th March 2018 and the 16th April 2018. There were also opportunity to participate online for those who couldn't attend. Porterbrook Clinic arranged for Healthwatch Sheffield to listen directly to the views of service users privately on the 19th April 2018, and a workshop held on the 30th April 2018 was also implemented to bring together trans and non-binary service users, clinical staff and operational leads from health and care services.
The key themes found from the focus groups were: awareness of trans and non-binary identities, terminology and gender pronouns, communication, waiting times, consequences of waiting for treatment, staff attitudes, fear and stigma, and healthcare staff as 'gatekeepers'. 6 service users shared their experiences, with Healthwatch Sheffield using the questions from the focus groups as prompts for conversation and to initiative discussion. People highlighted issues with long waiting times for initial assessments and then between appointments, which put extra stress on how crucial communication between the service and patients was during these periods of waiting. Long waiting times had serious effects on physical and mental health, leading some people to self-medicate, self-harm, and have suicidal thoughts. The findings from the workshop highlighted the barriers trans and non-binary communities have in accessing services.
Recommendations from this report are: to increase support in primary care, to proactively manage waiting times, to coordinate cultural change in health and care settings, to adopt a 'Do ask, Do tell' approach, and to embed shared decision making and co-design.
NHS Sheffield CCG circulated a flyer through their newsletter as an immediate action following the workshop.