Osakidetza will implement Primary Care Services for transgender people in Álava, Bizkaia, and Gipuzkoa this year.
osakidetza, the Basque Health Service, will launch throughout this year the Primary Care Services to Trans Peoples (SAPt), with the aim of offering close and specialized care in health centers of Álava, Bizkaia and GipuzkoaThis measure is part of improving healthcare for trans people, strengthening networking between the Primary Care and the Gender Identity Unit (UIG) Of the Hospital universitario cruces.
The SAPt will be composed mainly of professionals from psychology with training in gender diversity, who will offer psycho-emotional support and accompaniment to both users and their families. They will also work in coordination with the teams of Primary Care and UIG, allowing for a medical transition in a friendly, out-of-hospital environment.
Furthermore, osakidetza finalizes a new one specific health care guide for this group. This document, based on scientific evidence and the Law 4/2024 of the Basque Parliament, will update the care protocol in Euskadi and will define care circuits and rights of the trans people. The director of Health Care, Maite Martínez Zabaleta, highlights that "This guide will help implement good practices and ensure safe and effective healthcare routes for transgender people.«.
Improving healthcare for trans people
Since its inception in 2009, the UIG of the Hospital universitario cruces has attended to 1.308 people. In recent years, demand has increased significantly, especially among minors. While in its early years of operation the median age of users was over 27, it is currently below 18. In the last year, the UIG registered 140 new requests for care, half of which were for underage.
The implementation of the SAPt and the new guide represent a step forward in guaranteeing rights and improving healthcare for trans people in Euskadi.
