Gender Recognition: Clinics

(asked on 3rd June 2019) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the average length of waiting time for patients wishing to access appointments at gender identity clinics in each region of England; and if he will make a statement.


Answered by
Jackie Doyle-Price Portrait
Jackie Doyle-Price
This question was answered on 6th June 2019

Latest information from NHS England for March 2019 states that national average waiting times for adults, for a first appointment at a gender dysphoria clinic, range from 60 to 157 weeks, with a median of 76 weeks.

The highest average waiting time reported by a gender dysphoria clinic within each region are shown in the following tables (approximate figures):

Region

Average waiting time

North East and Yorkshire

80 weeks

Midlands

155 weeks

London

60 weeks

South West

98 weeks

There are currently no gender dysphoria clinics in the North West, East or South East regions.

In recent years, demand for gender services has increased significantly, reflecting an international trend. In response NHS England has increased funding in gender services by around 50%, but this has had limited impact in reducing waiting times given constraints in the professional workforce nationally. As a way of increasing clinical capacity to meet demand, NHS England has announced its intention to establish a number of pilot services across England from 2019/20 that will evaluate the extent to which adult gender dysphoria services can be delivered by trained clinical teams in local primary care or community health settings. If evaluated positively, NHS England will consider how to extend the new models to other parts of the country.

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