- 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 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 , 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 , 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.
