Episode Description: 

On this episode: Insights and experiences of being transgender

We speak to Fee Wood who shares her lived experience of being a transgender person, discussing the issues faced and how healthcare professionals can support transgender people better in healthcare settings. Fee is part of the Service Users Group, who use lived experience to help students and practitioners to understand differences and share knowledge. 

Fee bravely shares her personal journey and some of the tough experiences that she has encountered and gives tips and tricks for how this can be improved. 
 
Web links from the show: 

2021 Census (Office for National Statistics)  

“Is the gender you identify with the same as your sex registered at birth?  
Of 45.7 million, 45.4 million said yes, and 262,000 said no.  
 
Five-fold increase in UK rates of transgender since 2000 – BMJ (2023)  

Recorded anonymised GP records from 2000-2018.  
4 per 100,000 in 2000, 78 per 100,000 in 2018  
 
Transphobic Hate Crimes UK  
Home Office - In 2020/2021, 2630 hate crimes against transgender people were recorded by police – an increase of 16% from the previous year.  

• 88% of transgender people do not report hate crimes.  
• 48% were dissatisfied with police response.  

 
USA Current State  

USA Anti-trans Legislation  

Bills and laws that target access to healthcare, sports participation, school policies, legal recognition and “the right to publicly exist”.  

Increased level of anxiety, depression and suicide risk among the trans population  
 
Wellbeing/Mental Health Support Contacts: 

If you are a student or staff member at Staffordshire University and have been affected by any of the topics that have been discussed in this podcast, don’t struggle alone, Staffordshire University are here to help… Contact Wellbeing Support on 01782 294976 or by emailing studentwellbeing@staffs.ac.uk. 

For external listeners, mental health crisis lines and suicide prevention contacts can be found below. Please reach out if you feel you need to! 

NHS Mental Health Services - https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/mental-health-services/where-to-get-urgent-help-for-mental-health/ 

Mind Support and Services - https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/guides-to-support-and-services/seeking-help-for-a-mental-health-problem/where-to-start/ 
Samaritans Contact - https://www.samaritans.org/how-we-can-help/contact-samaritan/ 
 
Upcoming Podcasts: 

Experiences of Cerebral Palsy, Death within other religions, human factors in healthcare,  
 
Previous Podcasts:  

Race, Transgender, Neurodiversity, impacts of trauma, Mature student experiences, Transition from student to healthcare professional, and specialised areas such as mental health and organ transplant teams. 
 
Want to get involved? 
Are you a student? Member of staff? A Healthcare worker?
Do you have a topic you would like to share? 

Get in touch! Let’s Pod! 

Contact The Link podcast team: 

Ben W-H - @benw_h on X (formally Twitter) 
       ben.woodrow-hirst@staffs.ac.uk 
      @TheLinkPodcast on X (formally Twitter) 
Samuel O’Brian – samuel.obrian@staffs.ac.uk 
Joe Natalello – joseph.natalello@staffs.ac.uk 
 
Hosted by: Ben Woodrow-Hirst 
Produced & Edited by: Ben Woodrow-Hirst & Kirsty Egan 
Artwork: Shaun Kelly 
Theme Music: Gavin Samways