http://www.gires.org.uk/assets/DOH-Assets/pdf/doh-guidelines-for-clinicians.pdf

 

 

Whatever their medical needs, trans people (trans men, female to male/FtM; and
trans women, male to female/MtF) should be addressed and accommodated
according to the gender in which they present, unless they specify otherwise. This
applies, as far as possible, to any correspondence. If medical and administrative
staff are unsure about whether to address an individual as Mr, Miss, Ms or Mrs, it is
better to ask, discreetly.
Confidentiality is required for all service users, but this is a particularly sensitive
issue for trans people. Reception staff and practice nurses, as well as doctors, need
to be aware that unnecessary and unwanted disclosure of the transsexual status of
service users is bad practice and, in respect of those who are covered by the
privacy provisions of the Gender Recognition Act, could amount to a criminal
offence. Furthermore, this information may be irrelevant to their reasons for
attending the surgery, since people experiencing gender variance may seek medical
treatment for conditions that are totally unrelated to transsexualism.

 

People are entitled to treatment for transsexualism by law as stated in the case of
North West Lancashire Health Authority v A, D & G, Court of Appeal, 1999 (see
the forthcoming NHS publication A guide to trans service users’ rights).

 

This is not
a condition that clinicians may decline to treat. When trans service users present
for the first time for help with their gender discomfort, it is important that they are
treated non-judgementally and sympathetically. Doctors who feel unable to do this,
should refer them to a colleague who can.  

 

Go to the link above for more

This post was edited by Cristine Jennifer Shye. BL at January 27, 2012 3:16 PM GMT