Tēnā koutou,

I am writing to request information about the gender-affirming healthcare services provided by the Whanganui District Health Board. The DHB Gender Reassignment Services Stocktake in October 2015 indicated that the Whanganui District Health Board previously did not provide gender affirming healthcare services (see the Briefing on GRS attached to this previous request https://fyi.org.nz/request/7586-grs-wait...).

Could you please advise whether the following gender-affirming healthcare services are funded by the Whanganui District Health Board for transgender patients, and whether the services are currently available:

- Hormone therapy
- Mastectomy
- Hysterectomy
- Orchidectomy
- Facial hair removal
- Breast augmentation
- Voice training

Could you please provide information about the process of accessing those services that are available?

- Specifically, is an assessment by a mental health professional required in order to access gender-affirming healthcare services? If so, which services?
- In the case of hormone therapy, can primary health providers prescribe hormones, or does this have to be initially approved by an endocrinologist?
- Is any period of real life experience required to access surgery?

Finally, could you please advise what the process is if transgender patients require one of the above services, but the Whanganui District Health Board does not offer this service? Does the Whanganui District Health Board currently fund patients to travel to other areas to access this healthcare?

If any part of my request is unclear, please don't hesitate to contact me.

If any of the information that I have requested is unavailable or would be difficult to retrieve, but similar information might be readily available, I would be happy to discuss altering or refining my request.

Ngā mihi,
Gloria Fraser

Kia ora Shonelle,

Could you please confirm I have interpreted this response correctly - Whanganui DHB provides no gender-affirming healthcare services, and patients in need of this care must either access it privately or be referred to hospital services in another DHB?

Ngā mihi,
Gloria