Our latest mural wall has been designed by PRSC’ crew member’s Technical Manager Chloe…
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“Every month we have a new and exciting piece on our outdoor gallery mural wall. We feature beautiful, interesting and challenging artwork as well as political and protest pieces, and the artists and organisations responsible and the issues covered are diverse and important. It’s a real privilege to have a prime spot in our amazing city to amplify those voices. Over the last few years at the PRSC I’ve helped paint quite a lot of them – well I’ve slapped up some base coats – but this is the first time that I’ve designed a wall myself.
This issue is massively important to me and many of my friends as it directly affects our lives and puts our futures on hold. Personally I’ve been on the waiting list for the local Gender Identity Clinic since early 2017 – as yet I haven’t had any contact about a first appointment, and I don’t expect any contact for some time yet. It’s difficult to get a clear idea of just how long waiting times are – the 5 years figure is from a recent freedom of information request – but with the lists increasing daily and the added pressures of the current healthcare environment there’s every chance that this will increase further. The waiting time that the NHS aims for from referral to being seen is 18 weeks. That’s laughable at this point.
This is a difficult issue to talk about in the middle of a pandemic with the entire healthcare system stretched to breaking point, but this isn’t a new problem. Waiting lists have been spiralling for over a decade as underfunding and the lack of political will have seen it remain as a low priority. The government recently announced that there would be three pilots of a new approach to trans healthcare. These aren’t actually new proposals and have been in the works for a while so no credit goes to the current administration, but with a capacity of around 1600 patients they will barely touch the approximately 35,000 patients currently scratching out years of their lives waiting to be seen.
There’s an idea that trans people are looking to be singled out for special consideration and treatment, but that simply isn’t true. We want the same as everyone, to be seen and respected and we don’t want to lose a decade or more of our lives in limbo as we wait for procedures and medication that are given to cis (non-trans) people every day with little delay. We are way behind the curve in this country when it comes to access to trans healthcare and it’s costing lives.”
In the press…
- Writing on the wall: why trans and nonbinary people in Bristol are speaking out // The Bristol Cable
- ‘We just don’t want to die waiting’ Powerful mural highlights shocking reality of trans healthcare in the UK // Pink News
- Mural Shines a Light on the Shocking State of Healthcare for Transgender People // Bristol 24/7