Comment

[Ice Maiden]

I don't want to spoil the flow of this forum so have just created this thread for a comment on the people who sit in the meetings

Are any groups beyond the city limits attending

My only concern with these groups is (despite their value) they are very local and the concerns of someone living in the 'tolerant' metropolis or those who can afford to travel miles to it, are unlikely to be those perhaps with a mass of views about how their care doesnt tally well with rural living or less tolerant towns and cities elsewhere. CX still takes the lion's share of visitors who travel miles to see them. But they are effectively silenced or are communicating with Chinese whispers with the groups that are there. The most vocal again may not necessarily be the best placed to influence policy.

Just a thought.

A perfect example is perhaps a postal 'census style' questionnaire or opinions form that attendees can fill out and return autonomously - as not to affect their care plan could be useful.

A sort of tell us how it is form and wishlist.

As they can only get the form by attending but the clinic have no idea who filled it out.

Often it is post op people who tend to face down such clinics, because they have got nothing to lose by doing so. Someone depending on 'keeping 'them sweet' is unlikely to rock the boat even if they are appalled by the service. Alumni coming back many years after they have had their care are not actually in the loop so are very much outsiders looking in - unless they are still attending for mental health care and treatments many years later down the line.

[Denise Anderson]

The stakeholder group is gone forever... never to return...

[Ice Maiden]

Yeah its a good topic and shows just the scope of issues that need to be faced

TBH i feel it may have dried up for the exact reasons mentions - that people were not representative of the clinics clientele as a whole, does a support group in London represent the needs from someone in Rural Wales, with a completely different system, location and distance involved?

There is also the issue of value of the meetings, if they are just 'going through the motions' and going over the same old same old everytime people become jaded with the whole idea - especially practitioners who could be better using their time for paperwork or going home early

There is also the power imbalance, id like to think they would change their practice based on the meetings but my gut instinct would be they have already made their minds up long before them and unlikely to change based on a number of issues that for privacy and confidentiality reasons well simply or cannot ethically be shared.

Lets face it only groups with a mandate from 'the people' can effectively speak in such meetings, else its just what they want personally and this then soon lacks substance. Lastly of course other than 'be nice' expand and do more work in 24 hrs to increase the number attending - what else can they do really?

I often think that it would make more financial sense for a rota of psychiatrists from the clinic to outreach to a room in an NHS hospital or private clinic near all large towns/cities in the UK

One person one train ticket the Docs - they visit say Bristol - they have a trans consultation on a wednesday and thursday at a certain date every month, the next week there is one in swansea, plymouth, colchester, Norwich and so on.

then those that are local attend those rather than the plethora of people travelling by train which costs 10 times as much and lets face it not everyone can make it - especially if their kid is ill or something.

But they could probably make it to the local hospital for an hour and get their friend or neighbour to mind their kid for an hour.

But would they be as happy to do this and leave their comfortable clinic and trek in this way, surgeons fly to jobs all over the world all the time. So its not a lot to ask.

That immediately would save money (A LOT), it would unburden the GIC itself as part of the service is now unburdened on a local level. The same specialist gender docs are still working with you so you remain in the loop. I mean it could come to the situation where there could be specialist doctors who would prefer to stay in these local clinics and continue new services there on the NHS and thus sprout new localised specialist services we all need. Rather than the trek to the metropolis.

then they all refer say just for the op.

TBH much of what happens in the CX Fulham clinic could be down over skype