Gender Reassignment Surgery waiting list size and status
Megan Bowra-Dean made this Official Information request to Ministry of Health
The request was successful.
From: Megan Bowra-Dean
Dear Ministry of Health
I am requesting information on the current waiting list for the special high cost treatment pool’s allocation for gender reassignment surgery.
What is the current size of the waiting list for male to female operations?
What is the current status of funding for male to female operations since the retirement of Dr E Peter Walker in 2014?
If the funding is still on hold, are female to male operations still being provided overseas at the same rate as before (1 every two years)?
If the funding is still on hold, is the Ministry investigating overseas providers according to the Ministry’s criteria for medical treatments overseas?
Yours Sincerely,
Megan Bowra-Dean
Ministry of Health
Dear Ms Bowra Dean
Thank you for your request for official information, received by the
Ministry of Health on 5 April 2015
Your request has been received and logged. As required under the Official
Information Act 1982, the Ministry will respond to your request within 20
working days. You should receive a response on or before 2 April 2015.
If a large amount of information has been requested or if the Ministry
needs to consult in order to make a decision, we may need to extend this
date (this is provided for in section 15A of the Act). We will advise you
if such an extension is necessary.
The Ministry's reference number for your request is: H201500748
Yours sincerely
Government Relations
Corporate Services
Ministry of Health
[1]mailto:[email address]
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1. mailto:[email address]
Ministry of Health
Good afternoon Ms Bowra-Dean
Please find attached a response to your request under the Official
Information Act 1982 received by the Ministry of Health on 5 March 2015.
The request was in relation to the current waiting list for the Special
High Cost Treatment Pool's allocation for gender reassignment surgery.
Kind regards
Rebecca
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Megan Bowra-Dean left an annotation ()
Re-examining the response, that number is for the male to female waiting list so is an accurate estimate.
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Documents referenced in Gender Dysphoria Services review document 2003
To Ministry of Health by P. Lamborn
Megan Bowra-Dean left an annotation ()
To summarise the response: the waiting list is currently 61 people and at the current rate of funding will take 40 years to clear (60 / 3 = 20 * 2 = 40). That is assuming that all people on the waiting list are waiting for male to female surgery. This will be longer in total accounting for people wanting female to male surgery at the reduced funding rate for those surgeries. Further clarification with the Ministry is needed to get a more accurate estimate.
There will be no "catch up" in funding when a new provider is found and there is no clear timeline for finding a provider, meaning there's incentive for the Ministry to indefinitely delay.
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