- Thousands of adults waiting for gender services to receive clinical and emotional support from new wellbeing pilot
- Patients in the South West of England are waiting over 8 years for a first appointment, as evidence shows unacceptable waits cause higher rates of mental health issues
- NHS England is improving gender dysphoria services, with top medical director conducting major review into ways to improve adult services
Thousands of adults waiting for adult gender services will receive more clinical and wellbeing support, after the government inherited a situation where waiting times have soared.
The NHS has doubled investment in these services and opened five new clinics over the past five years but waiting times at an adult gender dysphoria clinic in the South West are around 8 years, with over 5,000 people in the region waiting for a first appointment.
Evidence shows transgender people have higher rates of mental health conditions, including depression, that longer waiting times risk exacerbating.
A new pilot, backed by £125,000, will provide those on waiting lists with access to support and information before appointments, including digital mental health support and community-based services.
The Health and Social Care Secretary announced the launch of the pilot scheme at the NHS England LGBT+ Health Annual Conference in London – which brought together clinicians, policymakers, healthcare providers and representatives from the LGBT+ voluntary sector to drive improvements in LGBT+ health and care.
Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said
It is fundamentally wrong that so many LGBT+ people still face challenges when accessing healthcare – including barriers such as discrimination, misunderstanding, and miseducation.
The result is that LGBT+ patients face longer waits, have poorer experiences of health care and suffer from high rates of mental ill health.
This pilot marks a major step – acknowledging the unacceptable waits endured by thousands of transgender patients and starting to tackle it head on. As we build an NHS fit for the future, we will ensure that it is there for everyone equally and stamp out systemic health inequalities that the LGBT+ community face.
Professor James Palmer, NHS national medical director for specialised services, said
We know there are unacceptably long waits for many of these services.
This is why we have commissioned an independently led review into the operation and delivery of the adult gender dysphoria clinics, alongside work we have already undertaken to introduce new care models that are making significant progress in helping to bring down these very long waits.
Patients on waiting lists for adult gender services will also be able to access online cognitive behavioural therapy through the NHS’s Silvercloud service.
NHS England is conducting a review of the operation and delivery of the adult gender dysphoria clinics, following concerns raised by Dr Hilary Cass, who led the Cass Review into gender services, about adult services.
Dr David Levy is leading this review, supported by an expert panel of patients, clinicians, independent regulators and members of relevant professional bodies.
This review is examining how services operate, how they work for patients, areas of concern, and action being taken to improve them. It will look at best practice that can be shared with other clinics, and any further support that should be made available.
