The claimant, a male to female transsexual, challenged a decision by the respondent to refuse breast augmentation treatment. The Trust had a policy ‘GRS is a Low Priority treatment due to the limited evidence of clinical effectiveness and is not routinely funded.’
Held: The claim for judicial review failed. There was no general medical concensus to contradict the policy stance taken. The defendants had been correct not to treat the claimant’s case as exceptional, since the symptoms were not severe. As to the points proposed by the interveners: ‘the Defendants had due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination against transsexuals and to the need to promote equality of opportunity between transsexuals and non-transsexuals. Their gender dysphoria policy was drafted with great care and after extensive consultation.’
Bean J
[2010] EWHC 1162 (Admin), (2010) 116 BMLR 125, [2010] ACD 75, [2010] Med LR 281
Bailii
Gender Recognition Act 2004
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – In Re Findlay, in re Hogben HL 1985
A public authority, and the Prison Service in particular, is free, within the limits of rationality, to decide on any policy as to how to exercise its discretions; it is entitled to change its policy from time to time for the future, and a person . .
Cited – Regina v Cambridge Health Authority ex parte B CA 10-Mar-1995
The claimant challenged a refusal by the Authority to provide medical care of the sort requested.
Held: Lord Bingham said: ‘I have no doubt that in a perfect world any treatment which a patient, or a patient’s family, sought would be provided . .
Cited – Rogers, Regina (on the Application of) v Swindon NHS Primary Care Trust CA 12-Apr-2006
The claimant challenged the policy of her local health authority not to allow prescription to her of the drug Herceptin.
Held: The policy had not been settled upon lawfully and was to be set aside. On the one hand the PCT developed a policy . .
Cited – North West Lancashire Health Authority v A D and G CA 29-Jul-1999
A decision not to fund gender re-assignment surgery was operated as a blanket policy without proper regard for individual cases and so was unlawful as an effective fetter on the discretion which the Health Authority was obliged to exercise. A lawful . .
Cited – Matadeen and others v M G C Pointu and others (Mauritius) PC 18-Feb-1998
It is a well recognised canon of construction that domestic legislation, including the Constitution, should if possible be construed so as to conform to international instruments to which the state is party. Lord Hoffmann said: ‘of course persons . .
Cited – A, Regina (on the Application of) v West Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust Admn 11-Apr-2008
A sought judicial review of the decision of the defendants not to provide him with free medical care. The defendants had relied on National Guidance. He was an asylum applicant with temporary admission but claimed that he was ordinarily resident in . .
Cited – Goodwin v The United Kingdom ECHR 11-Jul-2002
The claimant was a post operative male to female trans-sexual. She claimed that her human rights were infringed when she was still treated as a man for National Insurance contributions purposes, where she continued to make payments after the age at . .
Cited – Eisai Ltd v The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence Admn 10-Aug-2007
The company sought to challenge the decision of the respondent not to approve its drug for use for the treatment of patients with Alzheimer’s disease.
Held: In requiring all patients to have a certain MMSE score in order to qualify for funding . .
Cited – Eisai Ltd, Regina (on the Application of) v National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) and Shire Pharmaceuticals Limited and Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (Interveners) CA 1-May-2008
The applicant pharmaceutical companies challenged the decision of the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) to to list certain drugs saying that the procedure adopted was unfair. NICE had revealed that results of calculations it had made . .
Cited – Webb v EMO Air Cargo (UK) Ltd (No 2) HL 20-Oct-1995
The applicant complained that she was dismissed when her employers learned that she was pregnant.
Held: 1(1) (a) and 5(3) of the 1975 Act were to be interpreted as meaning that where a woman had been engaged for an indefinite period, the fact . .
Cited – Baker and Others, Regina (on the Application of) v Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and Others CA 28-Feb-2008
Dyson LJ considered the interaction between race relations law and planning permission in the context of gypsy encampments. He looked at section 71 of the 1976 Act and said: ‘In my judgment, it is important to emphasise that the section 71(1) duty . .
Cited – Kaur and Another, Regina (on the Application of) v London Borough of Ealing and Another Admn 29-Jul-2008
The applicants, representatives of the Black Sisters, challenged the implementation of a policy allocating grants. The authority required the services sponsored to provise services irrespective of race. The Black Sisters said this would impact . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Health, Discrimination, Human Rights
Updated: 31 October 2021; Ref: scu.416116
