Burnley Transsexual Fights For ‘Luxury Boobs’ On The NHS
TO Burnley, where Cathy Ann Daniels, 57, formerly Keith Stanstead Daniels, is refused a breast operation on the NHS. He says the ruling has left her “half man, half woman”.
It’s been 18 months since the ‘father’ of three had a £60,000 sex change in London. Now she wants the £5,000 breast operation on the NHS. But her GP won’t refer her. Why? Because under the local rules, breast augmentation is classed as a “cosmetic procedure”. This seems to imply that breasts are not necessary to being woman. However, East Lancs NHS does offer breast reconstruction following mastectomy for patients who have had breast cancer.
One commentator on the Lancashire Telegraph’s site notes, wonderfully:
He/she could afford the other private surgery. Save up like the rest of us do for luxury boobs…
Says Daniels:
“I have been left half man, half woman because my doctor will not refer me to the PCT [Primary Care Trust] for breast augmentation. I have undergone half the operation, but now I’m being kept in limbo because apparently there is no funds. Breasts are a really important part of being a woman and being like this is making me suicidal. It’s horrible. I’m neither one or the other. My lower half is a woman but my top half is a man.”
Michelle Bridgman, of the Gender Society, tells the Lancashire Evening Post:
“This has always been a geographic lottery. Some PCTs will fund and some simply will not.”
Before a quick investigation, know that:
“When I was 13, I had a female friend who was helping the army cadets run a jumble sale. She dared me to put on a swimming costume and I did. From that moment all doubts went out of the window.”
No doubts:
She said her condition led to four marriages breaking down.
“Each time they left me because they caught me cross dressing.”
But Miss Daniels is a transsexual, not a transvestite. She has a boyfriend.
“He is the only thing that stops me doing anything silly but he knows how much I need to have the second part of this operation.”
This is supported by the NHS, which states:
…trans people are at a greater risk of depression, self-harm and suicide. A 2007 survey of 872 trans people found that 34% of respondents had considered suicide. This is considerably higher than the general population.
Ady Davis, a psychosexual therapist with the North-East Gender Dysphoria Service.
As a result of discrimination, trans people can have conflicted and confused feelings. The conflict may lie within themselves. For example, if their trans status goes against their religious beliefs. The conflict may lie in their relationship with the people around them. Their parents, school or workplace may send the message that people expressing themselves in the opposite gender wouldn’t be tolerated. There’s also wider discrimination from society.
“Some trans people,” says Davis, “can’t do everyday activities such as going shopping without getting stared at, attracting comments, having their self-esteem knocked, or experiencing violence on occasion. When you put them together, all these difficulties can have a massive impact on mental health,” says Davis.
So. Mental health is not as important as physical health? Mental health is not well enough understood.
She then adds the line that will have Daily Mail readers excited:
“This is affecting my life badly and suppressing my human rights.”
Says Burnley MP, Gordon Birtwistle:
“Money should be spent on life-saving and urgent-care treatment rather than on cosmetic surgery. With everything that has happened in Burnley, including the closure of the children’s ward and A&E department, cosmetic procedures have to become a second priority.”
So. Should she get the operation? Anorak says “yes”. But why did the original surgeons who performed the sex change operation not give her breasts? For £60,000, surely attaching a pair of boobs was the easy bit..?
Posted: 26th, September 2011 | In: Key Posts, Reviews Comments (11) | TrackBack | Permalink
