How Does It Work? Eden care guide explanation

By: Dr Deborah Black

Dr Deborah Black BSc. (Hons), Ph.D

Deborah is the Client Care Advisor at Eden New Life and is responsible for ensuring all of our subscribers get fast, accurate responses when they message us. She's had an extremely impressive and diverse career including lecturing overseas and holds a Ph.D. in engineering mathematics (in the field of aerospace engineering) from the University of Glasgow. As a trans woman, Deborah has both the lived experience and insight into the issues and challenges facing the community.

Hello! The most common question I receive from new clients is, 'How does it work?'. We know many of you wonder how a completely online company can provide safe, comprehensive care, and, unfortunately, you may already have had a poor experience with overseas providers. So here is an explanation of how we do it;

Firstly, I do recommend taking some time to review our website. We work in a complex field of care, and so provide a lot of detail on the site already on exactly how things function. Many of your questions will already be fully answered on our Frequently Asked Questions page.

Be sure to also check our homepage, as there you can see a diagram of the typical progression of sessions you would have with our specialists after subscribing.

All our independent specialists are in the UK and UK registered. You can see photographs and read about the specialists you will meet here. Your care follows a carefully defined treatment protocol designed by our lead clinician and co-founder, Dr Oscar Parker, who is a WPATH member and an expert in this field.

To start

Provided you are aged 18 or older and live in the UK you can access our services without any delay or GP referral. You just subscribe to the plan you want, pay the first month's subscription and start.

You can always check when the next available intake session is on the home page of our website. You can likely be seen within 7 days or so. We don’t have waiting lists.

You’ll then have a series of video sessions (all online, via your smartphone or computer) with our independent specialists. You don’t need to travel to a clinic. They’ll take a detailed health history and ask you about your transition goals. They are all UK registered professionals so you can be assured the care you get is safe and that they are working to UK standards. Of course, you can ask as many questions as you want.

The plans

You access our care by subscribing to a fixed rate plan each month, so you know clearly what our costs are. There are no extra up front or "registration" fees. You can check our different subscription options here.

When you subscribe to a paid plan, day or night, you'll receive an automatic email invitation right away to book in for your initial intake session. All our diaries are online, so you don't have to wait for us.

If you change your mind about your plan you can cancel your subscription on our website, at any time, for any reason. There is no long term contract or obligation. We know gender affirming care presents unique challenges and we will always go at your pace. If you decide to take a pause for a while we'll always welcome you back.

The two paid plans we offer are the Hormone Advisory Plan and the Hormone Advisory Plus Plan. The plans are the same, except one includes 4 private nurse home blood tests per year. A lot of our clients find private blood testing more convenient and this plan lets you spread the costs.

Both plans include all your online sessions with our specialists and doctors, as well as all e-prescription fees (but not medication or blood test costs). Often I’m asked about the costs involved, so these are also fully detailed on our website here. We always try to make our pricing as transparent as possible.

Blood tests

Regular blood testing is a critical part of your care, as it enables our specialists to check that you are healthy and well, as well as monitoring your hormone levels in case medication changes are needed. With Eden you’ll likely require a blood test every 12 weeks during the first year. Full detail on the blood testing we do is here.

Our private blood test service is recommended, as it is easy to book and quick and reliable. But, if you have a GP who is supportive, we can accept blood test results from them which reduces your costs. Just be aware that GPs have no obligation to provide these tests for you, and you will have to organise the tests and pass the results to us. I can give you a letter to explain to your GP what you need - just ask.

If you get blood tests from your GP, the cost for our specialist to check them is already included in your subscription - it doesn’t cost more.

Every 12 weeks, after your blood test, you’ll have a catch up session with your specialist. There you can discuss your progress and any concerns. Paid subscribers are welcome to send in questions about their care at any time.

Getting your medication

And the final question I often get is, 'How long will it take to get my hormone medication?'. Typically, it takes an average healthy adult 4-7 weeks from subscribing to receive the first gender affirming hormone medication, if approved by our specialists.

We have a regulated UK pharmacy partner who’ll fulfil any private prescriptions our specialists provide to you. You pay the pharmacy online and they deliver, typically next day, by courier, so you don’t have to travel to any pharmacy. We don’t offer NHS prescriptions.

I hope this gives you a clearer idea of how we provide care while keeping you safe and well. If you have any further questions please do feel free to get in touch and ask. Our contact details are here.

Best regards, Deborah