Doctor says trans people suffer poor care in Queensland
Image: Dr Fiona Bisshop (Photo: David Alexander; Star Observer)
A Brisbane doctor has said trans people are frequently being mistreated, calling for better training in trans health care.
Dr Fiona Bisshop, a GP who specialises in trans medicine, said Queensland doctors often don’t feel they have enough knowledge to treat trans patients, The Courier Mail has reported.
“When it comes to looking at proper medical care, in terms of hormones, most doctors feel they don’t have enough knowledge,” said Dr Bisshop.
“Patients have been refused treatment because the treating doctor didn’t know what to do.”
Some trans people find their doctors are ill-equipped to manage their medical transition needs, such as in the case of a trans man who was denied a testosterone prescription by four GPs after having been on it for six years.
Others accessing emergency care have found their care derailed as doctors interrogate them about transition and needlessly examine their genitals.
Dr Bisshop said some trans patients were withholding medical information about themselves to protect against discriminatory treatment.
Britney Spaulding of Beenleigh, south of Brisbane, said she the GP she visited at 19 to begin medical transition wasn’t properly trained in giving hormones.
“The doctor just read out the names of drugs until I said one sounded familiar,” she said.
“He gave me no information on how to use it, and I ended up stopping because I didn’t have enough information.
“He didn’t take a blood test to see what my levels were… it could have been dangerous.”
Queensland Health denied that trans patients in need of care were turned away from its hospitals, saying, “Our staff treat all patients with respect.”
