Trans students' protest against Students' Health Service lack of accessible hormone treatment

Trans students claim they pay over £100 a month to access healthcare

Bristol University students have taken action outside the university’s Student Health Service (SHS) as protesters argue a lack of access to hormone therapy for trans students.

Organized by the Trans Liberation FrontThe protest questions the student health service’s apparent inability to provide hormone treatments to transgender students.

The Bristol Tab spoke to Freya, a member of the LGBTQ+ community and a participant in the protest, who told us: “We are here today to protest the student health service because they are really terrible at supporting their trans students.

She claimed, “They basically have a blanket ban on prescribing any hormones to anyone.”

In a statement, Bristol University refuted this claim, stating that transgender healthcare is a “specialist area overseen by a network of gender identity clinics which are centrally funded by NHS England”.

It said as it does “continues to prescribe hormone treatment for some students who have been through this NHS process”, students wishing to access hormone treatment must first be referred to these specialist clinics and cannot be provided by “individual GP surgeries”.

This follows the General Medical Council’s guidelines that state once someone has been discharged from a Gender Identity Clinic or experienced Gender sSpecialist, the prescription of relevant hormones can be carried out by the family doctor without further specialist involvement. The GMC advises that denying treatment to a patient in these circumstances is unacceptable.

However, the reality for trans students means that actually getting referred to a gender identity clinic isn’t that easy. The university readily admits that wait times are “currently two to five years”, meaning a first-year student at Bristol University could easily graduate before ever seeing a specialist.

Protesters claim that insufficient access to hormonal drugs leaves students with no choice but to fund treatments themselves: “Some of my friends I know pay up to £180 a month just to get their hormones. That’s about half of my friggin’ hormone-buying budget,” Freya said.

Freya feels that her experiences show how little the university actually cares about us (trans students), that we are too controversial to support it directly, and that has a direct impact on our mental health and makes us feel unworthy of protection.”

“I know I wouldn’t be alive if I didn’t have access to gender-affirming care.”

In response to the protest, a University of Bristol spokesman said: “The University’s Student Health Service, along with others, has campaigned nationally to improve wait times for this service as we recognize the detrimental impact this can have on patients.”

They also recognize the economic burden of having to seek private care and continue to recommend “the use of an NHS gender identity clinic because it supports long-term, well-managed safe treatment”.

The Student Health Service claimed it is continuing to provide help to transgender students by referring them to the NHS Gender Identity Clinic service. Bristol Uni “supports the mental health needs of all our patients and is aware of the specific issues related to the lack of timely transgender healthcare for the well-being of individuals.”

“We are regularly involved in discussions with the university regarding the needs of students, including our trans community, and have been involved in discussions on the provision of LGBT+ academic advisors.”

The Students’ Health Service concludes its statement by reaffirming its status as an “NHS Rainbow Badge practice with additional LGBT+ training for staff” which “aspires to meet the highest standards of accessibility and support”.

This month’s protest had a clear message for student health services: “We want to change and ask for your support.”

Bristol University’s full statement is below:

“Transgender health is a specialty served by a national network of gender identity clinics [GIC] funded centrally by NHS England.

“Anyone applying for hormone treatment through the NHS must be referred to these specialist clinics who will assess each patient to determine what medication is appropriate. This is not a decision that can be made by individual GP practices. The Students’ Health Service continues to prescribe hormone treatment for some students who have gone through this NHS process.

“The waiting time for the GIC assessment is currently two to five years – which has been exacerbated in recent years by the pandemic. The University Student Health Service has worked with others nationally to improve wait times for this service as we recognize the detrimental impact this can have on patients. The long waiting times have resulted in some patients seeking private examinations/treatments which they have to pay for themselves. We recognize that this is expensive and anyone who chooses to do so must consider the long-term costs and the impact that stopping treatment could mean for them in the future. We would always recommend using an NHS GIC as it supports long-term, well-managed and safe treatment.

“The Student Health Service can support students who wish to seek private care by providing guidance on what a quality and safe service should entail. We help our patients with referral to the NHS GIC service, social transition support, advice on broader transgender health issues such as NHS screening programs and changes to medical records.

“We support the mental health needs of all of our patients and recognize the specific issues related to the lack of timely transgender health care for individual well-being. Students are individuals and will be considered on a case by case basis. We are regularly involved in discussions with the university on student issues, including our trans community, and have been involved in discussions about the provision of LGBT+ advisors within the Central Student Advisory Service.

“The practice is an NHS Rainbow Badge practice with additional LGBT+ training for staff. We recently applied for Pride in Practice accreditation from the LGBT Foundation and strive to meet the highest standards of accessibility and support for our patients and staff.”