Ben Amics denounces that the IB-Salut discriminates against trans people when it comes to changing the name on the health card

PalmaThe LGTBI rights association Ben Amics has reported a new case of violation of the rights of trans people within the public health system of the Balearic Islands. The entity asserts that in two continuous care centers (PAC) in Palma, they refused to process a new health card with the chosen name of a trans person because they did not present the ID with the registered name change.

“It has happened again: the rights of trans people have been violated again in the public health system,” denounced Ben Amics, which demands that trans people be able to have a health card with the name they identify with, regardless of the name that still appears on the national identity document.

The organization reminds that it is not necessary to present the ID with the modified name to request the name change on the health card. Therefore, it recommends that people who are denied this procedure go directly to the Health Service office located at 9 Reina Esclaramunda Street, in Palma. Ben Amics considers that situations like this highlight the difficulties that trans people still face in the public health system and demands that protocols and administrative procedures guarantee their rights without discrimination.

The conflict with the Gender Identity clinic at Son Espases

The complaint regarding health cards comes amidst criticism from Ben Amics regarding healthcare for trans people at the Son Espases University Hospital. This Thursday, the organization demanded the closure of the center's Gender Identity clinic, which it accuses of carrying out “systematic transphobic practices” and having become, according to its complaint, “the main obstacle to starting medical transition”.

Ben Amics claims to have collected several testimonies from people who have gone through this unit and who, according to the organization, coincide in denouncing the use of an informed consent form and a protocol from the Endocrinology department that would date back to 2010.

The association particularly criticizes that these documents refer to the “risks” of hormone therapy and “gender identity disorders”, a terminology it considers pathologizing and which, it claims, does not align with the current approach to the rights of trans people. IB-Salut, however, maintains that the document shown by Ben Amics is not the one currently used at the clinic. The Health Service asserts that the current informed consent form is from 2023 and is available on the hospital network's intranet. The organization admits that some older document might still be in circulation, but insists that these materials “are not in force”.

Ben Amics also questions the existence of psychological care linked to the process. In this case, IB-Salut maintains that the psychological consultation is not mandatory, but is made available to users who wish to use it. The new complaint about health cards thus adds to the ongoing debate between the LGTBI organization and the Health Service regarding the model of care for trans people in the public health system of the Balearic Islands.