World

UK Health System Crafts Special Rules For ‘Vulnerable’ Transgender Elderly With Dementia

Shuttestock/Andreas Zerndl

Daily Caller News Foundation logo
Grace Carr Reporter
Font Size:

A United Kingdom board of health launched guidelines on how physicians and caregivers should treat elderly transgender people with dementia because they are a “vulnerable” group.

Transgender elderly allegedly face more suffering and confusion than cisgender elderly persons.

Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB) crafted policy for elderly transgender people, offering advice on how to help transgender individuals with dementia keep up their desired appearance when they’re no longer able to do so themselves. The policy also directs caregivers to aid them in remembering the individual’s chosen identity, given they might become confused as to why they are wearing clothes or cosmetics that are not traditional for their biological sex.

Transgender individual Jenny Burgess, 66, helped craft the policy. Transgender people with dementia “may wake up one day and they’ll be confused why they’re dressed in a certain way,” he said, according to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). “They may worry why certain parts are missing from their anatomy. So it’s these sort of things that I’d like staff to be aware of. There’s no simple answer … but it really is a worrying scenario,” he said.

“As dementia progresses a person may not recall their current gender and they may see themselves being pre-transition and be surprised at the physical changes to their bodies,” BCUHB dementia nurse Sean Page said, BBC reported. “This can result in them becoming very disorientated and anxious. They may not understand why they are being referred to as being a certain gender as they cannot recall publicly voicing this preference.”

The health board’s Vice Chairman Margaret Hanson asserted the new guidelines are critical to supporting a “unique, but vulnerable, group of older citizens.”

Also WATCH: Together We Will Build Great Buildings, Invent Incredible New Products

The policy guidelines come after Britain’s largest all-girl youth organization, Girlguiding U.K., changed a rule in November 2017 to allow children who identify as female to share showers, bathrooms, changing rooms and tents with girls who are biologically born female, according to The Times(RELATED: Transgender Guidelines Changed To Allow Co-Ed Showers For Girl Guides)

Medical research shows 80 to 95 percent of children outgrow their gender dysphoria naturally and accept their biological sex if nature takes its course. Top studies also show no mental improvement after gender-reassignment surgery and indicate people who successfully transitioned suffered 20 times the suicide rate of their peers and also suffered lifelong mental health issues. (RELATED: Expert Responds To America’s ‘Transgender Movement’)

There hasn’t been a single long-term randomized study on the effects of hormone-blocking treatments on children, and no laws currently govern or regulate hormone-blocker usage.

Follow Grace on Twitter.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.