Finding care providers who understand trans health issues is important. This kind of provider might be a primary care provider, a counsellor or another health care professional.
Our health navigation team helps connect people in BC to gender-affirming health and wellness supports. Based out of Vancouver, the team includes health navigators, nurses, peers, and admin support staff, with access to a general practitioner for consultation as needed. The team works alongside service providers and community contacts from across the province to help people find care and support as close to home as possible.
- For information on our services, see Who We Are.
- If you need help accessing gender-affirming care in BC, please Contact Us and we will try to help connect you with resources as close to home as possible.
Primary care providers are your main health care provider in non-emergency situations. They include doctors, nurse practitioners and general practitioners. Specialists look at one type of health issue in detail, such as plastic surgery, gynecology or endocrinology. To see a specialist, you must talk to your primary care provider first.
All health care providers in British Columbia have the responsibility to serve trans and gender diverse people. However, research confirms that trans and gender diverse people experience barriers to receiving health care, including:
- refusal of care
- difficulties getting referrals
- lack of provider information on trans issues
- uncomfortable or problematic interpersonal interactions
As a result, many people have to educate their health care providers about how to meet their needs. Others have had to travel long distances or move to the Lower Mainland to access gender-affirming health care.
A healthcare provider may say they do not have enough training to prescribe or monitor hormone therapy. If they are open to learning, you can refer them to our Health Professionals section, which includes resources such as the WPATH Standards of Care, a Primary Care Toolkit, and the RACE (Rapid Access to Consultative Expertise) phone line.
If they are not open to learning, you can contact the health navigation team to find out if there is another primary care provider near you who can provide the care you need.
