Healthcare
Helping you get the care you need.
Helping you get the care you need.
We can help you navigate Waitaha Canterbury's healthcare system to make sure you're getting the care you need. We can support you through the pathways for puberty blockers, hormone therapy, or gender affirming surgery - or recommend you a GP for your general healthcare who we know will be knowledgeable and affirming when they need to be.
For more detail, check out our gender-affirming care guide for Waitaha, and if you have any questions, get in touch!
Healthcare Navigation
For health professionals
Qtopia provides training, professional development, support and consultation across the healthcare system, and is currently leading a national training programme for primary care. We can help your service make sure you're safe, welcoming, and accessible to your rainbow whānau, and ensure we're reducing barriers to accessing care.
Counting Ourselves (2018) showed that over a third of trans and non-binary people in Aotearoa aren't accessing healthcare when they need it because of the concern about how they'll be treated when they reach out for help. Our training aims to directly address this barrier by building health services that are openly safe, welcoming, and inclusive to our rainbow whānau.
Our national training programme, in partnership with PATHA and supported by te Whatu Ora, is for anyone working in primary care, from GPs and nurses through to allied health and reception and admin teams. Our training is available nationwide, in person and online.
We're not just here for our rainbow whānau - we're here for anyone supporting rainbow people, too. If there's anything we can help with, please get in touch.
Qtopia provides peer support for all transgender, non-binary, and gender diverse people in Ōtautahi Christchurch and Waitaha Canterbury regardless of age. This service is funded by Te Whatu Ora Waitaha, so it's totally free of charge.
Our peer support service is here to help you with whatever you need. Most people come to us for one (or more) of three things:
Practical support on your journey of gender recognition, whether it's help navigating the healthcare system, coming out, changing your name, or more.
Support with your wellbeing, and helping you implement the things we know can help.
Social support and connection to community - having someone to catch up with over a cuppa can make a world of difference.
But our peer support service is guided by you, and what you need. We're flexible, too - we can meet when and where suits you best. Lots of our clients enjoy going on regular walks, or going shopping for some affirming clothing - we're not constrained to offices and meeting rooms.
Our peer support service is currently available via a GP referral - ask your GP to refer you to 'Transgender Mental Health Support'. If you don't have a GP, or you'd like recommendations of trans-friendly GPs near you, please get in touch with us!