I was a patient at Charing Cross until 2007 when i successfully had my surgery and must state that I had a positive experience there.

There were some excellent questions and it was good to hear about the myth of women having to wear skirts to appointments being gone. I never wore a skirt to an appointment and, during many sessions with Dr Penny Lenihan, never saw her wear anything other than trousers.

The clinicians do a good job under difficult circumstances and they have to have some guidelines to work under. The real life experience is necessary and I agree with the guideline that this should include a year in employment/full time education/voluntary work. Sitting on one’s derriere does not help one through this momentous change.

I found that the clinicians I saw were excellent and Dr James Barrett was both knowledgeable on his speciality and a fount of information on a wide range of topics within general life away from medicine (including a detailed knowledge of typography - I used to work as a typesetter for my local paper). He also treated me with the utmost courtesy and respect as a human being.

This is not a glamarous branch of medicine but the results when the surgery is complete (I was lucky enough to have excellent surgical results by Mr Bellringer) dramatically improve one’s life.

I have been able to successfully integrate into general society as the woman I am, and I have Charing Cross to thank for making this possible.

Whilst those within Charing Cross continue to lament their “inherited reputation”, the fact is those that have the power to actually change things for the better, and actually place trans people first and foremost over internal commissioning and politics would rather just continue their favourite game of ‘gatekeeping’

Dr Stuart Lorimer and Charing Cross GIC were instrumental in declining my referral for genital surgery despite the fact that I had completed more than 5 years RLT and complied with the HBSOC and all clinic protocols. I saw Dr Lorimer in the hope to facilitate a GRS referral. Both Dr James Barrett and Dr Lorimer clearly refused a referral. Since leaving Charing Cross GIC in early 2007 I have now seen another psychiatrist at another Hospital who gave me a referral at the the first appointment.

I also appreciated your questioning, that cut through to some key points - in other words, you were asking some of the questions I’d have wanted you to ask.

I think it’s sad and disappointing that someone sincere and clearly experienced in this field feels that some of the greatest difficulties come from GPs and PCTs. And the whole issue of the postcode lottery by which one PCT may sanction funding and another may not is particularly concerning - and sort of worrying because an issue like transsexualism has the potential to tempt decision-makers within PCTs to make decisions that may be influenced by religious dogma, and therefore there is a greater danger of prejudice and discrimination over the funding of transsexual patients than over, say, the funding of cancer patients - where the illness does not seem to cut across religious beliefs in the same way.

Stuart Lorimer is a decent, direct and down-to-earth practitioner who treats patients/clients with kindness and respect.

In my experience there are other practitioners at Charing Cross GIC who are also sensitive and supportive. I think this integrity came across in the interview. Thank you for making it happen.