First-of-its-kind Ottawa Hospital gender-affirming clinic now accepting patients

The Ottawa Hospital General campus on Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2022. (Jim O'Grady/CTV News Ottawa)

The Ottawa Hospital is now accepting referrals to its new state of the art gender affirming care clinic.

The clinic is the first of its kind in Ontario and second in Canada to offer trans and non-binary patients facial, top and bottom procedures.

The clinic will have life-changing implications for trans and non-binary individuals, who often face barriers to seek care with long wait times or lack of access in the communities where they live.

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"There’s just a massive gap in our health-care system for the treatment of the transgender population and people seeking gender-affirming care," said the clinic’s lead and co-founder, Dr. Nicholas Cormier in a news release.

"What’s so groundbreaking about this new clinic is that everyone is coming together to address this shortcoming in our system."

Before the clinic was opened, patients seeking gender-affirming surgery in Ottawa could only access top surgery but not bottom or facial operations. Previously, a clinic in Montreal was the only location in Canada offering all three procedures.

The clinic will be partnering with other surgical divisions at the hospital—plastic surgery, urology, obstetrics and gynecology.

The hospital will also be working with trans health programs out in the community, such as the Centretown Community Health Centre’s Trans Health Program, which provides patients with a referral to the clinic and CHEO’s Gender Diversity Clinic.

For Dr. Cormier, the clinic is the culmination of many years of caring for the gender-diverse community.

"Accessing gender-affirming surgery is just one small component of gender-affirming care," Cormier said. "That’s where these community partners really come into play."

The Ottawa Hospital also launched the Gender and Diversity Specialty Clinic in January 2022, providing care for medically complex trans and non-binary patients.

some gender-affirming surgeries are available at other Canadian hospitals.

Women’s College Hospital has been increasing its capacity and growing its team in order to provide this life-saving care for its patients requiring gender-affirming surgeries. Its transition related team started out in 2019 with nurse practitioner Emery Potter and medical director. The team has since grown.

Vancouver General Hospital also offers top and bottom surgery.