Transgender People: Provision of Healthcare

Karl Turner Excerpts

Tuesday 16th December 2025 Westminster Hall

[Emily Darlington (Milton Keynes Central) (Lab)]

My hon. Friend is making a powerful speech and bringing the debate back to people, which is where it needs to be. I want to highlight a case in my constituency of a young transgender person who spent two years on the under-18s waiting list for an initial appointment. They have now aged out of that waiting list and potentially have a six-year wait, meaning that when they are able to speak to a doctor or a health professional it will have been eight years. Their parents approached me to tell me how much that is damaging their young one.

[Karl Turner (in the Chair)]

Order. I remind Members that interventions need to be very short. Lots of Members want to take part in this debate and long interventions eat into the time for speeches.

[Rachel Taylor]

I thank my hon. Friend for sharing that experience. It reflects the reality for many trans young people and adults in the UK: discrimination from healthcare professionals, waiting lists stretching over years, a complete lack of local provision and a reliance on less well-regulated private providers. That is the state of healthcare for trans people in Britain today. It is woeful and inadequate, and it is letting people down.

The consequences are serious. Almost one in four transgender people avoid going to the doctor altogether for fear of mistreatment. They delay cancer screenings and push aside chronic pain, and their health outcomes worsen as a result.

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[Several hon. Members rose—]

[Karl Turner (in the Chair)]

Order. I remind Members that they should bob if they wish to speak in this debate. I have to put on a time limit of three minutes for speeches.

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[Danny Beales (Uxbridge and South Ruislip) (Lab)]

It is an honour to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Turner, and I thank my hon. Friend the Member for North Warwickshire and Bedworth (Rachel Taylor) for bringing us this debate. I am proud to call her a colleague and a friend. She is an exemplary part of the LGBT movement, and I am proud to associate myself with her and her comments in this debate.

We have heard already about the extraordinary length of waiting lists for gender-affirming care. Based on current appointment rates, a trans person can expect to wait an average of 25 years across the UK for an initial appointment to start gender-affirming care. That is simply not good enough, and we would never accept this in any other patient category in our NHS. We have heard much in this debate about the delays in receiving this care and the devastating impact that has on the lives of transgender people. With that in mind, I would like to ask the Minister whether waiting times for transgender patients are included within the current target to cut waiting times to 18 weeks by the end of this Parliament. Can she commit specifically to decreasing the length of waiting times for gender care by the end of the Parliament?

The second issue that I want to raise—which we have heard about already—is the operation of NHS gender care services more generally, and shared care as an important component of them. Once a gender clinic deems a trans person’s medical transition complete, it discharges them from its care to that of the GP, who will then authorise hormone prescriptions and contact the clinic about any issues. However, GPs in my constituency —and many that we have heard about in this debate—are increasingly refusing to enter into shared care agreements. The rate of such rejections has gone up from 5% to 21% in the last 12 months. Will the Minister therefore commit to clarifying the roles and responsibilities of different NHS services for the provision of gender-related healthcare? It is unacceptable that those who have waited years or decades for initial appointments, who have jumped through all the hoops possible to get NHS gender care, and who are finally in receipt of NHS prescriptions from NHS doctors, are then in practice unable to receive a prescription because their GP has unilaterally decided not to perform blood monitoring tests and provide that shared care support.

It is vital, as has been said, that we ensure access to a range of health services beyond gender-specific needs, whether sexual health services, reproductive health services, or primary and secondary care more generally. The voluntary and community sector, including trans-specific groups, perform a vital role in providing services, brokerage, networking and support in the health service but they are often poorly funded. I encourage the Minister to see what the NHS can do to support trans-led health organisations within it.

Unfortunately and increasingly, a hostile environment is being developed across much of the media. It seeks to erase the existence of trans people from our past, present and future. It is vital that we speak up about their existence, and about the experience of our constituents. I have been contacted by many of my constituents who are trans to detail the impact that the media, political and public discourse is having on their lives. I welcome this debate as part of resetting that discourse in this place and in our society. Fundamentally, this is about treating all people with dignity and respect, and about recognising that trans people exist, as do their health needs.

[Karl Turner (in the Chair)]

We have four minutes remaining for three speakers.

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[Rachel Taylor]

I thank everyone who has spoken in this debate, and all my hon. Friends, for their passion, care, advocacy, understanding, kind words and leadership in this area. The tone of the debate has proved that we can, away from the glare of culture wars, have a sensitive and nuanced discussion about how to guarantee care for some of our most vulnerable citizens and how to support their families.

I thank the Liberal Democrat spokesperson, the hon. Member for Mid Dorset and North Poole (Vikki Slade), for her understanding and clarity of thought; she is a strong advocate. I also thank the spokesperson for the Green party, the hon. Member for Bristol Central (Carla Denyer).

I thank the Opposition spokesperson, the hon. Member for Sleaford and North Hykeham (Dr Johnson), for coming here divested of some of the toxic and inflammatory zeal, even though she seemed more concerned about the small number of people who are detransitioning rather than about all trans people and their healthcare.

Most of all, I thank the Minister for her remarks. I welcome her commitment to first-class healthcare for everyone. I welcome the Brady review reporting early in the new year, including the fact that there will be between seven and 12 healthcare centres for young trans people, with more clinics to come around the corner. I also very much welcome her Waiting Well pilot and hope that it can be rolled out across the country.

I want to finish by broadening out this discussion. This has not been an easy year for trans people. The Supreme Court judgment and the misguided, unnecessary interim guidance that followed from the Equality and Human Rights Commission have created genuine fear that rights long enjoyed are now at risk. We have heard today about the poor state of healthcare for trans people in this country, and flawed guidance risks making that situation worse.

I have heard from trans and non-binary people who have developed urinary tract infections because they feared going to the toilet. There is no doubt that the toxic culture wars have the potential—

[Karl Turner (in the Chair)]

Order.