This article was originally published by QNews. You can find the original article here.
A Canberra doctor has been accused of discrimination for cancelling a teenage transgender patient’s GP appointment.
In an article from The ABC, Sandy* had booked into the GP for adolescent vaccinations.
She was also seeking a mental health plan and possible referral to a transgender health clinic.
However, Sandy and her mother were shocked when the appointment was suddenly cancelled only hours after it had been confirmed.
Her mother said the family had been looking for a “transgender accepting” GP and was assured by staff that “it would be no issue”.
Sandy’s mother went on to make a complaint to the ACT Human Rights Commission about the incident.
“I think that every person should be able to call a doctor’s surgery and book in basic health care without having the fear that they will be rejected for a basic element of who they are,” she said.
“It shouldn’t be a game of roulette … it just feels really wrong that they should be able to turn people down for something they can’t control about themselves.”
In a statement, a spokesperson for the surgery said it could not comment on specific patients, but said it takes “complaints such as this very seriously”.
A 2023 Australian study found that timely access to gender-affirming healthcare significantly reduces rates of depression, gender dysphoria, and suicidality by as much as half.
Sandy’s mother is calling for the surgery to undergo training about how to treat trans people. She also wants the doctor to complete an outreach program in the trans community as a form of apology.
