#UK NHS Sucks

[crystem]

Help out a struggling intersex girl?

The NHS will prescribe utrogestan to perisex women for reasons caused by low progesterone such as fatique, night sweats, suicidal ideation increase, and more. Yet, when this comes to intersex women, they refuse to offer the same prescription on the NHS forcing the intersex woman to go private, even when it is medically necessary for the intersex woman. - it's a discriminatory practise.

So... help an intersex girl out so she CAN get necessary medication privately?

[xemnote]

I've got a doctors appointment tomorrow and I'm terrified they're going to just shrug me off like they always do and invalidate me.

Just making the appointment got stressful and annoying...

I'm bringing my partner along because it goes much better if he's with me. Every time I go alone, I end up crying and calling him while he's at work for comfort.

A few of my experiences when I went alone:

The receptionist shrugging off me going "I feel like I'm going to have a seizure"

Nurses shrugging off my worries about my memory and brain.

The doctor telling me to go buy a self-help book when I went to them about an ED

The sad news is this is the best GP near me.

I made an appointment because I think I'm hypermobile, It could explain why I've had joint pain since I was 13 and other issues!

I've tried twice to get answers for my pain but I got sent to physio which didn't help and a blood test with 0 answers.

I hope I get answers this time.

[brawlcloud]

EXTREMELY frustrating how people have started to see the job of the NHS as restricting access to care - that the long waiting times and grudging attitude towards prescription aren't a glaring failure of a negligent government but instead a necessary check on those silly young people who think they need help with ADHD or transitioning, to the point where private clinics that actually function at more than a snails pace are seen as reckless!

[solarlotus]

This is a result of Brexit, we used to have loads of EU nurses, lots left. I was recently in hospital and it was awful because of lack of nurses. I was quite upset reading this. The Tories treat public sector workers, including nurses so badly, some nurses actually have to rely on foodbanks they’re paid so little (e.g. if part time lone parent), it’s disgusting. 

Brexit is fucking terrible on so many levels. 

[songofwizardry]

r/ukvisa is a treasure trove of useful info and experience and has saved me so many times by digging up home office policies buried on the website that could get a visa rejected but boy does it not take a lot for several people on that sub to throw disabled people/"illegal" immigrants/asylum seekers/the entire concept of taxation and socialised healthcare/etc under the bus

[goldenzingy46]

not to get serious on my tumblr blog months before an election but if you're in the uk and you think all the options suck you can show up and just write FUCK YOU on your ballot. this is an option. we want a high turnout so even if you can't bring yourself to vote show up and tell em how much they suck.

(they read them, so if you specifically write FUCK THE TORIES or I HATE STARMER or whatever you want to write they will see this. FUND THE NHS and FREE PALESTINE are other options but you can write whatever. you can write meow)

((that said you can also google tactical voting in your area and help get rid of the tories))

[decepti-thots]

I didn't post yesterday on Trans Day of Visibility. I rarely post on TDoV these days, because I find it overwhelming as a very 'visible' trans person, often performative, frequently noisily obnoxious, and as someone who used to specifically involve myself in British trans politics extensively, it became pretty unbearable for me after a few years with how awful it is on socmedia. So I'm a little late with this post.

This year however, my country recently declared that the NHS should stop prescribing puberty blockers to trans youth. Anecdotally, some trans adults have been contacted by their GPs following this saying they are no longer willing to prescribe them HRT; as someone who has also been taken off HRT by local GPs randomly (because GPs are not obligated to give you hormones even after Gender Identity Clinic recommendation, but can decide if they want to do based on... nothing, basically) this is uhhh. Well, both believable and a minor escalation of the preexisting status quo basically, hah. It's just like that here if you can't afford continuous private care. This is just a formal escalation of what it's been like over here for years now. Being trans here sucks, noone is surprised to hear.

Given this, here is what I said on Twitter last year on TDOV, which I still stand by:

If you're someone who enjoys my blog, and perhaps it's not something you usually do: please consider looking up if there's a local group near to you that supports trans people and donating to it, or signal boosting it, or whatever. Not the big nationally recognised group everyone always rushes to donate to when Bad News TM occurs; is there some unrecognized local group noone thinks about? Is there a struggling group near you offering basic services, drop in clinics, etc? There might be. They're usually both lifelines for many trans people and underfunded next to 'splashier' charities, in my experience.

I'm trans in a part of my country noone cares about. Nobody who doesn't live here donates to our local queer groups, even as those of us living here are dependent on their massively underfunded assistance constantly; disproportionately, since we're overwhelmingly poor and lack access to the resources of richer parts of the UK, where things are not good but at least have better optics sometimes. Wherever you are, whatever things are like where you are, if there's some local group you could offer time or money to that supports trans people, please consider donating it to them. Five bucks to a local org or mutual aid fund barely getting by on very little attention is often more impactful than defaulting to looking up big well-known organizations.

Anyway that's my post about that done for the year. Get involved in your local community and you'll find trans people to help, and to love. <3

[llyfrenfys]

Wondered why I was suddenly dealing with a bout of dysphoria out of nowhere. Then I remembered the Cass Review came out.

Since staring T my dysphoria has gotten so much better to the point it's patently obvious some of my dysphoria is caused by living in a country that fucking sucks for trans people right now. If the UK wasn't being so transphobic rn I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be experiencing dysphoria at all or as intensely. Trans peace and love on planet Earth. But no. I live in the UK.

I don't know how much the Cass Review applies to Wales - but there's a non zero chance the government could strongarm NHS Wales into adopting the review 'findings'. I hope not - but if so, we will fight it every step of the way.

Lastly - it's becoming increasingly obvious the Cass Review is our generation's Section 28. I'm reading Outrageous! by Paul Baker at the moment, which recounts the history of Section 28 and resistance to it. But this, this is a glimpse of hope. If legislation like Section 28 can be brought down and shown to be on the wrong side of history, so can the Cass Review.

[bil-daddy]

Salutations Mr Bildad, Bildad the Shuhite, Bildaddy sir.

I'm so so sorry to bother you, or be a nuisance, but everything is getting on top of me lately and you give excellent advice.

Basically, the last 12-18 months have been awful - I'm acutely aware that in terms of what's happening in the world I'm pretty blessed 🙏🏻 However within around 12 months experiencing; a miscarriage, 4 bereavements, one parent being rushed into hospital, the other needing surgery (both are doing Ok now thank God 🙏🏻), two surgeries of my own within six months - neither of which have improved what they should have, chronic pain, multiple diagnoses - most of which were unexpected & should have been diagnosed a looonnnnggg time ago, reactions to any& all medications, finding out physio will be necessary for the rest of my life, a very upsetting break up, discovering people who were supposed to be friends can't be trusted...... Let's not forget financial issues due to being unable to work as result of illness etc .... I am losing hope that things are ever going to get better 😔

I'm so so sorry for offloading all this on you but work said they could no longer offer counselling which is infuriating because the counsellor was amazing! Sadly she isn't taking on any private patients for several months so we had to discontinue sessions for the foreseeable 😔

I'm so sorry but I don't really have any other people to talk to right now, my fiancé was my best friend so in a sense it's almost a double loss? Sorry this is pretty pathetic 😪

Yikes. And here I thought @blameless-job had it bad.

So, first off, let me tell you how sorry I am for all your losses. Any of which on their own are extremely painful, but all at the same time? Nobody should have to weather a storm like that. I am so proud of you, just for being here. You're incredibly strong for what you're surviving, even though you shouldn't even have to survive it in the first place.

So don't apologize cause there's nothing pathetic about reaching out for help when you're going through something--or multiple somethings, in your case. In fact, it's exactly the thing you need to do. A lot has been dumped onto your plate, so it makes sense you need to offload it.

I know your former counsellor isn't able to help you at the moment, but maybe they can refer you to someone else, because you deserve a professional (in psychology, not shoemaking and obstetrics) to help you through these tragedies. They might be able to get you a referral.

(If you want to try to find a counsellor on your own, there's NHS Therapy Services in the UK, and SAMHSA National Helpline in the US.)

In the meantime, though, I'll do my best.

If you're worried that things are never going to get better, you shouldn't be. I mean I understand why you are, but the fact is, as dark as this is to say, you might actually be at your lowest point right now. Which means, as awful as things are right now, things can only go up from here.

You got some new diagnoses, which suck to have, especially when they should have been caught earlier, but now that you have a diagnosis, you can start getting treated.

You're six months out from two surgeries and haven't gotten better, but in six more months, or even six weeks, you might start to see some improvement. Plus, once you start the phsyio therapy you now know you need, you can troubleshoot with the physical therapist on how to make more improvements on the issues you had surgery for, as well as the chronic pain. The physical therapist might also be able to refer you to a counsellor as well, if your previous counsellor isn't able to give you one.

But that's just the physical stuff.

It's the emotional stuff that hurts more. Losing loved ones, be it to death, breakup, or just realizing your friends aren't really friends. That kind of pain is even more difficult to deal with.

For the bereavements, it might be helpful remember the good times you shared with these people and the things you loved most about them. They may be gone now, but those memories aren't and they're even more valuable now that they are the parts of your loved ones that are still with you.

And when you're living your life, and you see or hear something that reminds you of them, like a favourite song, or the kind of car they used to drive, that's another way they're still with you.

You might cry the first few, or few hundred times you remember them, but after awhile you'll start smiling more and crying less when you think about them.

For the miscarriage, it's a bit tougher, since you're grieving what could have been, rather than what was. But it's still a loss as valid as any other loss of a loved one, so you have every right to grieve it as such. You have my deepest sympathy for the loss of your child. And the miscarriage is why your fiancé and you are no longer together, you have my deepest sympathy for that, too.

It would be easy for me to say "the trash took itself out" when it comes to ex-fiancés and fake friends, but much harder for you to actually feel that way.

You have the right to grieve the friendships and your relationship ending. To miss them even though they hurt you. To feel hurt, and betrayed, and angry, and still love them anyway, even if you can't be around them anymore. It's okay to hate them, too, if you need to. Not forever. But in the short term, it can be cathartic and exactly what you need.

It'll take time for all these overwhelming and conflicting feelings to fade, and it's possible they'll never completely be gone. But you will learn to live alongside them until you forget they're even there.

You will feel better, I promise you. Een if the light at the end of the tunnel looks like a distant star right now, you'll reach it.

So have an ox rib (platonic) for the journey

Hope this helps, even just a little. Mutuals, feel free to send good vibes @ashbunny2027's way

[fantastic-mr-corvid]

anyway. the uk sucks ass and living here sucks ass too! NHS is sooo amazing until its soooo not!

[kowabungadoodles]

The NHS waitlist sucks atm, let's help get this guy some gender

[jangofettjamz]

Where I've been... (depression sucks)

Hello, to my followers and readers I just wanna say I'm so so so terribly sorry for not informing you of my whereabouts.

I'm gonna be blunt, I've been fucking miserable over the last year. My depression has kicked in full force and I'm so annoyed that all the progress I've made to get better seems to have gone down the drain. This has been due to multitude of reasons; college has been an absolute nightmare to deal with, my I feel like I'm failing at everything I do despite the work I produce. Working on multiple I.T projects at once is literal pain.

A close friend of mine also passed away which devastated naturally. We had the same first name and has been piller in my life, encouraging me to follow my passion and navigate through a world I had no understanding of due to being so closed off. He pushed my autistic ass to do things I would've never dreamed of, and some heart condition he wasn't even aware of killed him on his sleep. Life is so fucking unfair.

Which brings me to my third reason, I miss my mom. She passed away from COVID-19 nearly three years ago, caught it while working in a COVID-19 ward as a nurse for the NHS. She always rooted for me to do what I loved and was my biggest supporter in life and it irritates me that some virus cut her life so short. I partly blame the UK gorvernment for that. As much as I love my step mom, she can never replace her. I've tried so hard to get over her death, but I just can't...

So long story short, life has gotten really really harsh and I couldn't find the motivation to post anymore, but that doesn't mean I won't post ever again. You readers are so lovely to interact with and I hope to post more content for you to enjoy in the future to come.

I wanna thank the writers who have created some amazing stories for me to read during this REALLY shitty time in my life, you guys have talent that I could only aspire to reach someday. Here's just a few examples: @void-wolfie @lesbianpepsi @ajortga @cobaltperun @kaisacobra and many other writers.

And to the people who are only just finding out about me, welcome. I hope you stick around and read some of my content.

Feel free to message me or ask me stuff, I still wanna interact with you guys even if I'm not posting.

I dunno when I'll be back, but I will be. But right now, I've gotta go to therapy. Take care you lot. ❤️

[charlotte-of-wales]

I thought so last week when he immediately left for Sandringham after his treatment, it was so tone deaf but you know. I don’t think he shouldn’t rest, but he’s got houses within driving distance to London. It’s so stupid of them to keep advertising that Charles basically takes a helicopter for his doctor appointments. At least he didn’t go to Scotland, but it wouldn’t have surprised me if he did.

and that's the thing - chemo fucking sucks and people should absolutely do whatever they think is more comfortable for them. if flying across the UK to your countless country states is what's more comfortable for you then do it. if strolling around your gardens will improve your mental health - which obviously plays a huge part in cancer treatments - then by all means, suit yourself.

but WHY tell the press about it? do they not realize it makes them look tone deaf af? flying back and forth between your country states to go to doctors appointments in helicopters while many in the UK have to wait months to get proper care in the NHS is wild.

[qqueenofhades]

Elizabeth on a deeply personal level when you're talking about her being a parent or grandparent or great-grandparent: probably not evil in the sense she's not a serial killer or something lmao Queen Elizabeth in function (and she died in function): deeply entrenched in a terrible system based entirely on oppression of everybody except the aristocracy, living off the money that should be spent on reforming the country (NHS, food, etc.), which is obviously a system she was born into but also definitely a system that is not so much grossly outdated as it is something that should never have existed, and her death punctuates the perpetuation of this oppression by seizing the opportunity to spend millions of tax pounds on a ridiculous public propagandistic funeral, nvm the additional millions that will be spent on Charles' coronation--and all for what?

The queen should have been a woman who quietly died, without all this fuss and attention and political hoo-ha surrounding it, because she should have died not as a queen but as some woman with no political significance because monarchies suck smegmatic dick

I mean... yeah. Aside from the essential anti-democratic institution that a monarchy is by nature (ESPECIALLY the British royal family, who have consistently cashed in on their celebrity and enjoy worldwide popularity/recognition as a result), this is obviously going to be a huge expense for British taxpayers, at the time the country is going through an unprecedented economic collapse as a result of the devil's brew of a hard Brexit and 12 years of ruinous Tory economic policies. The new hard-right Tory government with Dime Store Margaret Thatcher is going to milk this occasion for all the xenophobic nationalist points it is worth, while continuing to callously let two-thirds of their own country plunge into poverty over fuel bills. Because something something Make Britain Great Again? I'm not entirely sure.

As you point out, the enormous cost of a lavish state funeral and then a coronation at a time when UK citizens literally have to choose between heating their homes and eating food is bad enough, and doubtless Charles, always exquisitely sensitive to What The Public Will Think, will be aware of that, because all they care about is the optics and NOT giving the people an obvious reason to overthrow them. (And like, I couldn't get into All The Shit The Queen Did in my last post, but are we forgetting what that entire family did to Diana? Like, not that she was a precious innocent angel or anything, but yeah, it was HORRIFYING.)

Anyway, I am absolutely hoping that Britain as a whole has finally had enough of this Panem et Circenses shit, but I guess we'll see.

[ironfoot-mothafocka]

I know trans people across the UK (not just in Scotland) are upset and angry about the blocking of the bid by Scottish Parliament to make getting a Gender Recognition Certificate easier. We are being used once again as a political and media football, and it sucks. It’s dangerous. It’s harmful.

I got a Gender Recognition Certificate in 2019 after transitioning about 11 years prior. Here’s what I’ve needed a Gender Recognition Certificate for:

Nothing.

My life did not change. At all. I haven’t even looked at my new birth certificate for 4 years and I don’t think I will need to.

Trans people in the UK: you do not need a GRC to update your name, passport, driver’s license, sex marker on NHS records.

You don’t need one to use the loo of your choice, the changing rooms of your choice, the gym locker room of your choice.

It is illegal for businesses or services which provide single sex spaces to discriminate against trans people or exclude us unless it is proportionate and achieves a legitimate aim.

It is illegal for a service or employer to ask you to show them a GRC. It is a piece of private documentation that is strictly protected by law.

A birth certificate is no longer required as evidence to get married. A passport will do.

The world is hurting trans people, but from a man with a Gender Recognition Certificate: it will be OK. Life will go on, and we will ensure things get easier for us.

[ayeforscotland]

Honest question- are you all in the UK doing anything to try to adapt to the higher temperatures? I really, seriously don't mean to be a dick. Overheating sucks, i don't like high temperatures either. But climate change is a thing and even if all the corporations who've caused it disappeared tomorrow the effects wouldn't immediately stop. So like, is there some plan to deal with that in the UK? Because i feel like I've been seeing the complaints/warnings about the heat every summer for years and years and it just seems like there should be SOMETHING that could be done so you guys aren't dying every summer.

I’ll give you one guess.