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@PALKO_HTA recommends "confusion" regarding gender identity should be first treated in local health center or special health care (erikoissairaanhoito) before referring the patient to trans clinic at TAYS /HUS.
That does not support health and safety of trans folks. Thread:
That does not support health and safety of trans folks. Thread:
Firstly, the new recommendations are available (in Finnish) here: https://palveluvalikoima.fi/valmiit-suositukset
Binary trans folks and nonbinary folks are discussed in separate recommendations - which doesn't make sense. I am referring to recs. regarding binary trans people since that's who I am.
Binary trans folks and nonbinary folks are discussed in separate recommendations - which doesn't make sense. I am referring to recs. regarding binary trans people since that's who I am.
At the moment, to enter the diagnostic process at TAYS or HUS, one needs a referral from a doctor (from e.g. local health center) that is then evaluated at TAYS/HUS and either accepted or rejected. Approved ref. starts the long diagnostic process that may result in diagnosis.
The doctor one goes to get a referral from might have never written one before nor treated a trans person before in any capacity.
In new recommendations instead of referring the patient to a specialized clinic, they'd be asked to provide psychosocial care to that patient. (4/x)
In new recommendations instead of referring the patient to a specialized clinic, they'd be asked to provide psychosocial care to that patient. (4/x)
Of course every doctor should be equipped knowledge about transgender and nonbinary that they'd know how to treat us in their _regular work_ (e.g. not get flustered when encountering trans bodies or names and legal genders that do not match.) (5/x)
But we cannot expect that every health center will have a doctor that knows how to treat/support someone that is struggling with their gender identity and/or experiencing gender dysphoria.
By doing so we put patients at risk of being mistreated. (6/x)
By doing so we put patients at risk of being mistreated. (6/x)
Maybe not every person seeking for referral is trans or nonbinary.
But we wouldn't accept this kind of policies with other medical conditions? Like maybe that's skin cancer but I'm not an expert so... I'll just try something and not refer you to a specialist? right? No. (7/x)
But we wouldn't accept this kind of policies with other medical conditions? Like maybe that's skin cancer but I'm not an expert so... I'll just try something and not refer you to a specialist? right? No. (7/x)
This of course happens with other conditions too - and it shouldn't. But putting it into a policy is next level wrong.
Not to mention that doctors are not immune to bigotry and biases regarding trans people. There's no guarantee a doctor might just not believe we exist. (8/x)
Not to mention that doctors are not immune to bigotry and biases regarding trans people. There's no guarantee a doctor might just not believe we exist. (8/x)
And those that simply no nothing about trans folks, rely on recommendations and guidelines. The doctor I got my referral from in 2017 had never written one before. They were kind to me but very confused.
Had PALKO's rec. been in place, I don't know if they had referred me. (9/x)
Had PALKO's rec. been in place, I don't know if they had referred me. (9/x)
And mind you, I lived in Turku and purposefully went to employee healthcare hoping for more accepting doctor. I couldn't have imagined going to my childhood hometown's health clinic.
Nobody should be scared to seek treatment and help. But that's what the new rec creates. (10/x)
Nobody should be scared to seek treatment and help. But that's what the new rec creates. (10/x)
To put it simply: imagine you're having some symptoms that are pointing to condition X. You go to a doctor that doesn't specialize in X to get a referral. But instead of referring you to a specialist, without knowledge of your potential condition, they put you to therapy (11/x)
We don't need more gatekeeping. The current diagnostic process is already long and complicated - and not everyone referred is taken in as a patient. Not everyone is diagnosed.
This all precedes even a name change let alone legal changes. That's inhumane. #translakinyt (12/x)
This all precedes even a name change let alone legal changes. That's inhumane. #translakinyt (12/x)
My experience:
I understood that I was trans in 2013, when I was 19. I was scared and didn't seek referral to diagnostic process until summer 2018 (got the year wrong earlier).
My process took 1 year and 9 months and I got my diagnosis (F64.0, binary trans) this April.
I understood that I was trans in 2013, when I was 19. I was scared and didn't seek referral to diagnostic process until summer 2018 (got the year wrong earlier).
My process took 1 year and 9 months and I got my diagnosis (F64.0, binary trans) this April.
Because of Finnish name law, I couldn't file for name change until I got my diagnosis. That is still being processed.
My legal name is still my birth name. My legal gender is still female.
I am not on hormones but I look like a young boy. Showing my id to anyone is scary.
My legal name is still my birth name. My legal gender is still female.
I am not on hormones but I look like a young boy. Showing my id to anyone is scary.
I've been living as Ossian since last summer but I had to wait for a diagnosis to even _apply_ to have it as my legal name.
Why do these legal changes need to be tied to a medical process?
And why on earth would we make that medical process even harder to access?
#translakinyt
Why do these legal changes need to be tied to a medical process?
And why on earth would we make that medical process even harder to access?
#translakinyt
These last tweets weren't about PALKO rec. anymore, but ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
We shouldn't need to be fighting agaisnt going backwards in our rights when our current situation already violates human rights and is against the law. Seriously. Scrap PALKO rec and #translakinyt. End of thread
We shouldn't need to be fighting agaisnt going backwards in our rights when our current situation already violates human rights and is against the law. Seriously. Scrap PALKO rec and #translakinyt. End of thread
