By PAUL YANDALL
Despite a ruling by the Chief Ombudsman, a man's long battle to have a sex
change operation is not yet over.
The former crane driver, now known as Joanne Proctor and living as a woman in
the King Country, says she is still facing obstacles to getting surgery even
though Chief Ombudsman Sir Brian Elwood ruled it could proceed.
Sir Brian recommended to the Health Funding Authority and Health Minister
Annette King that the HFA arrange and pay for psychiatric assessments of the
53-year-old and, if approval were given, to pay for gender reassignment
surgery.
"I was absolutely thrilled at his decision," said Ms Proctor.
"It's been 3 1/2 years coming. I'm trying to have the [assessments], so
everything is still incredibly murky."
But she said she had reached an impasse with health authorities.
"They've been ordered to facilitate the assessments and fund them, [but]
it doesn't look like they've made any effort."
She said she had not been contacted by the HFA or Health Waikato, which is
expected to carry out the assessments, and nor had her specialist, Dr John
Conaglen.
HFA spokesman Rob Eaddy said the authority was "moving at pace to ensure
that the psychiatric assessments are available," and had told Ms Proctor
in June that it would pay for them.
Once the assessments were made the HFA would be able to determine whether the
surgery went ahead.