Disclaimer: All information here is uptodate as of time of print. These are guidelines only and the services offered at the time of patient's encounter may vary to what is printed here. This is due to the system always updating, but we will try our best to keep you informed.

By Sarah.G

At Garden City Surgery, we will always support and respect our patients and staff who are a part of the LGBTQ+ Community. No matter if your sexuality is not straight, to being non-binary all the way to identifying as a different gender to the sex you were born as, everyone who works at Garden City Surgery (the receptionist, secretaries, the managers, the clinicians) will forever respect and support you.

What training have we done?

It is important for us staff members at Garden City Surgery to continue our training, refreshing our mind and learning new points when the NHS implements new changes. 

One of the training points that every staff member does is Equality and Diversity, this course digs deep in the importance of treating everyone with the same dignity no matter the differences that we have between one another. 

On top of that, the doctors also do training in the knowledge of the referral services, understanding the information that these gender identity clinics (GIC) will want. As well as that, clinicians are now starting to do LGBTQ+ training modules from Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP).

What to expect when transitioning?

We understand the difficulty it must be living in a body that has the autonomy of the sex you were born in when you identify as a different gender. At Garden City Surgery, the doctors will always be approachable for you to come to them whenever you would like to start this transition. Please know, if you do not want us at reception to know, just mention it is something private and we will add that to your doctor’s appointment slots. 

As expected, transitioning isn’t a straight forward path. A few things to know is that the doctor can refer you to a GIC to start this process, but of course, before this you will need to have a conversation with the doctor. Once the referral is accepted, they will take over and explain everything that needs to be done, such as assessment.

What is a shared care plan?

If you have gone through a transition, you will most likely end up having a shared care plan. This shared care plan normally comes into play when a patient takes a drug that is specialized but the GP doesn’t have a lot of knowledge on it and it is normally initiated by the hospital or the GIC. To have this shared care plan to be activated, whoever is giving the medication will have to write a letter to your GP, stating this. 

If you have transitioned from female to male, you will have the option to either have testosterone injection or the gel. However, if you have transitioned from male to female, you will be given estrogen tablets. Part of this shared care plan agreement will normally include having regular blood tests.

Please know if you have changed your name, you will need legal documents for us to change this on your file. On top of that, if you would like to use different pronouns than the one you were born with, do not feel afraid to come to us and inform us. We will be able to add a note to your records.

If you ever do feel when you are in our surgery that someone is harassing you due to being a part of the LGBTQ+ community please do inform us at reception. 

As already mentioned, we will always support you and we do not allow any form of discrimination.

Anymore information please check this link: NHS England » LGBT+ health