Australians Often Wait Years For GC Surgery

[Carolyn Marie]

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-08-25/transgender-affirming-surgery-barriers-waiting-lists-costs/102473890

 

 

Carolyn Marie

[AllieJ]

Put simply, there is no access to Gender Affirming Surgeries on our public health system in Australia, even though some gender centres offer hope, there is no mechanism to make it happen. Even if you can afford to buy insurance, the gap for costs are beyond many. There are few surgeons offering services, and they all use private hospitals. I have heard of one surgeon in Adelaide who has carried out facial surgery in the public system, but I believe this is very limited. 

 

The options for Australians seeking GAS are to have the funds to go private, draw on retirement savings, or go overseas (though this option doesn't receive any government or insurance rebates). I was lucky to have funds to access GAS locally, but I had to pay almost AUD$40,000 out of my pocket. FTM surgeries are significantly more expensive. This means that many trans people in Australia simply can't get these surgeries, and this has tragic outcomes. My wait was just 12 months from initial enquiry.

 

The solutions are complex, the gap between government funding and the current surgery costs is huge, and unlikely to be bridged while there is a shortage of surgeons. The public hospital systems are already past capacities, and while GAS are considered "elective' they would get pushed back as other surgeries are prioritised. This means that even if the funding gaps could be closed, we would need more surgeons, and it could still take years to get theatre time and a recovery bed. The other issue is that publicly funded hospitals often use inexperienced surgeons who work more cheaply while gaining knowledge and experience, and I don't know that I would want someone learning on me...

 

Hugs,

 

Allie