– I have visited several parts of the system, with people trying to help me. You feel like a pawn in the system, says 18-year-old Bianca Bysheim Voll. In 2017, as a 13-year-old, she was referred to Rikshospitalet. One year later she was discharged. After that, work has gone into getting back into treatment again. She describes the path to treatment as tough and difficult, and believes that such a vulnerable patient group is exposed to an unnecessary amount of mental toil. – It’s like walking through a bog with snowshoes stuck under two meters of mud. Large increase in children and young people with gender incongruity A new report from the National Commission of Inquiry for the Health and Care Service (Ukom) shows that the health and treatment provision for children and young people with gender incongruity varies. There is unclear organisation, a lack of capacity and long waiting times in the treatment offer. Ukom believes that clearer management and measures are necessary to ensure proper health care and treatment. Head of Medicine and Health Sciences in Ukom Stine Marit Moen Photo: The National Commission of Inquiry for the Health and Care Service – There is an unwanted variation in services and practice. The guidelines that currently exist lay too unclear a basis for the services, so that what is considered proper health care is interpreted and practiced differently, says head of medicine and health sciences Stine Marit Moen at Ukom. The background for the report is reports of concern directly to Ukom. In recent decades, there has been an increase in children and young people seeking health care for gender incongruity. From 1975 to 1990, there were approx. four referred persons per year for such treatment in Norway. In the last ten years, the national treatment service has reported an increase in referrals from approx. 50-70 per year in 2007-2010 to 400-600 referrals per year in 2018-2021. The health service is not sized to meet the increase, and is challenged by many expectations for health care that are difficult to meet. – The variation shows that it is necessary to clarify what is sound practice and to set up the services to look after children and young people. This will ensure support and help at the same time as it prevents errors or unsafe treatment, says Moen. Sorry that the offer is not in place In the Directorate of Health, they agree with the conclusion in the report from Ukom that a better health offer is needed for children and young people who experience that they were born with the wrong gender. Division director in the Norwegian Directorate of Health Johan Torgersen Photo: Anders Fehn/news – A better health service is needed because it is not sufficient as it is today, says division director Johan Torgersen. – What are you going to do with this then? – A full-fledged treatment offer must be developed. The primary health service must increase its competence, and the regional health organizations are required to expand the offer from the specialist health service. But it is not in place. – Why is the offer not in place, when the then Minister of Health Bent Høie said several years ago that there should be regional centres? – That offer is not in place, and we apologize for that. Unfortunately, there is little we can do concretely about this. We are in regular dialogue with the healthcare institutions to find out how far they have come in getting the treatment offered in place. For Bianca Bysheim Voll, the report means nothing in itself. It is what is done after the report is presented that matters. – What is important is that something is done, and I think that is good with the report. It can tell politicians how we feel and what is important to us. – It is only when the report is implemented that we will feel change, she continues. She herself must, among other things, Live went from being a woman to a man. And back again. travel to Oslo to get help, which she finds frustrating. – Dedicating a whole day to traveling to Oslo, being there for 90 minutes, going home with lots of questions and not knowing who you want to meet the next time you travel to Oslo, it gets tiring. I think it should be possible to establish more local treatment centres, says Bysheim Voll.
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Large differences in the offer for children and young people with gender incongruence – news Rogaland – Local news, TV and radio
