Protest held after GP practice withdraws hormone prescriptions for trans patients
A local trans group has branded the decision ‘deeply misguided’. (Peter Dazeley/Getty Images)
A GP practice’s decision to stop prescribing hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to trans people has been met with dismay.
Jubilee Park Medical Partnership, which runs practices in the East Midlands region, announced on Monday (30 December) that it would stop prescribing the medication to all transgender patients. Those currently on HRT, won’t get repeat prescriptions.
Protest group Nottingham against Transphobia issued a statement following the announcement, calling the decision “deeply misguided”.
“It doesn’t matter what anyone thinks about HRT, if practices stop supplying it, the need for it doesn’t magically disappear,” a spokesperson for the group wrote on social media.
“People just go online and get it anyway, except they don’t get dosage advice from medical professionals, they don’t get proper training about how to keep a needle sterile and they don’t have their bloods monitored.”
HRT uses a combination of medications to help create hormones that better fit a trans person’s identity. It has been described by several major medical organisations as life-saving.
For individuals who have had gender-reassignment surgery, also known as bottom surgery, HRT is necessary because the body has no way of creating hormones on its own, which can cause a number of complications.
The right of trans people to access hormones has become a point of concern over the past few years, particularly after health secretary Wes Streeting permanently extended a ban on puberty blockers.
It is understood that cisgender patients will still be described HRT for menopausal-related issues, which Nottingham against Transphobia said was blatant discrimination and showed a “lack of concern” for transgender patients.
The group held a protest on Tuesday (31 December) outside the Jubilee Park Medical Centre, in Carlton, Nottinghamshire, condemning the practice’s “failure to care for its transgender patients.”
PinkNews has contacted Jubilee Park Medical Partnership for comment.
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