Trans man plans to fly to Turkey to have his boobs removed for £7,000 less than in the UK

Josh Dayus, 19, says he hasn’t received any treatment through the NHS and has been on an NHS waiting list to attend a gender identity clinic since 2018 – he pays £60 per month for testosterone

A transgender man travels to Turkey to have both breasts removed as the operation costs less than half the price in the UK.

Josh Dayus, 19, says he has not received any treatment through the NHS and has been on an NHS waiting list to attend a gender identity clinic since 2018.

He says he was diagnosed with gender dysphoria in private.

Last year he started paying for testosterone which costs £60 a month.

Josh has now decided to fly to Turkey for a double mastectomy as the operation costs just £3,000 compared to £10,000 in the UK, Bristol Live reports.

The NHS said it was seeing an increase in demand for gender-related services and had increased investment, including setting up five pilot gender identity clinics across the country.

He said: “It’s stupid, I don’t want to go to Turkey for surgery but I’m glad it’s an option.

“I got a call [from the NHS] in August 2020 to transfer me to the adult clinic, but nothing happened.

“It’s ridiculous. If I didn’t have the money to go private, I probably would have killed myself by now because that’s what I need. I need the treatment, but they don’t give all priority to that.

“This government does not understand what it is to be transgender.”

Josh said he first became aware of what it was like to be transgender when he was 11 or 12 years old.

He said before that he was just a tomboy.

He said: “I never let my mum put dresses on me and I always hung out with my brother’s friends.

“I would steal my brother’s clothes, and if we were role-playing at school, I would still be boys.

“I always felt a little different, but my dad was very homophobic so I never let myself explore that.”

When he was a teenager, he saw a documentary about trans people and started doing his own research.

At the time, he was in foster care and had already come out as a lesbian.

His foster family at the time accepted that he was a lesbian but was very transphobic.

He says when he asked his host family if he could cut his hair, they refused, saying it would be “a stereotypical lesbian”.

He says hanging out with his family has been difficult, but his mother and siblings were okay with it.

Josh said he struggled with his identity but felt better now that he was going to have surgery in Turkey.

He said: “When I was 14 or 15, I moved from this foster home to another and they immediately let me have my hair cut.

“When I then moved to my permanent foster home at 15, I went there as Josh.

“I just told everyone I wanted to be known as Josh and my pronouns are him and his. Most people were ok with that, my grandma is very transphobic but I blame this on his old age.

“At my first Pride in Weston I had glass bottles thrown at me, but luckily nothing really hit me. They were just shouting things at me, but generally it’s okay.”

Mr. Dayus is now trying to raise funds for surgery and as part of that he went up Pen Y Fan and he will climb Mount Snowdon later this month.

An NHS spokesperson said: “The NHS continues to see growing demand for gender-related services and as a result has increased investment and set up five pilot gender identity clinics for adults across the country.

“In the meantime, the Cass review, commissioned by NHS England, will determine the best future model of care for children and young people.”

The Mirror has contacted the NHS for a statement.