Findings from our Trans survey

Healthwatch Southwark created this report to summarise the results from the Trans survey that they carried out.

Following Healthwatch England sharing the news that 8 local Healthwatches raised concerns in 2014 around access to Gender Identity

Services and Gender identity Clinics, Healthwatch Southwark wanted to understand the experience of local people in the context of the national experience of Trans patients and so started a series of engagement activities. So they created a survey that focused on what the experience was like of using health services including mental health services, the interaction with health professionals, the ease of accessing

information and asked if there were any recommendations they could make to improve the experience of Trans people accessing health services.

Findings from the survey included:

- Low proportions of respondents felt comfortable talking to a health professional (24%) or agreed that healthcare professionals spoke to them with dignity and respect (27%).

- Whilst some people knew where to find general health information, information about Trans-specific issues, transition, and health after transition, was more difficult to obtain. Information on transition was often inaccurate or out of date, and guidance might not match what

was happening in practice.

- Most respondents (71%) felt that health services do not treat Trans people equally compared to cisgender people.

There were a large number of suggestions for recommendations from the respondents, including:

- “Poor people [should be able to] access Trans care of as good quality as [that accessed by] rich people… The best care I have had is when I pay myself, even though by doing this, I know I am jeopardising completing my Trans healthcare.”

- “take self-medding seriously – prescribe and monitor.”

- “If there is a doubt over our perceived gender bite the bullet and ask us what we'd like to be called.”

There is no responses from service providers included in the report.