The Long Wait: Trans Youth Endure a Six-Year Struggle for Healthcare Access

According to a Freedom of Information request, thousands of transgender youth are required to wait as long as six years for medical care.

If a transgender youth were to place themselves on the waiting list for gender-affirming care through the NHS today, they would face a wait of 308 weeks for an initial consultation.

As of July, over 6,000 transgender children and adolescents were reported to be ‘lingering’ on waiting lists.

While approximately ten young individuals are referred monthly by their general practitioners, only eight received consultations between April and July.

The Children and Young People’s Gender Service (CYPGS) is ‘profoundly overwhelmed’, according to Anne, a healthcare provider specializing in transgender care who evaluated the FOI results, expressed.

Upon reaching 17 years and nine months, individuals are no longer eligible for treatments provided by the CYPGS.

Consequently, they are required to recommence the referral process at the adult equivalent service, a gender identity clinic (GID). For some, waiting lists can extend as long as 93 months.

The service has previously acknowledged that prolonged waiting times can inflict ‘catastrophic harm’ on patients.

The NHS has consistently stated its commitment to enhancing and expanding services to reduce waiting times progressively.

In April, CYPGS succeeded the country’s sole youth gender clinic, Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust, following a report from pediatrician Hillary Cass that resulted in tightened regulations on youth gender healthcare.

Around 250 open cases were transitioned from Tavistock to be prioritized in the new system, with those on the waiting list subsequently addressed.

However, the new gender healthcare service was operating at only 75% staffing capacity from April to July, as indicated by the FOI report. A third regional CYPGS was inaugurated last month in Bristol.

Anne co-founder Susie Green conveyed to Metro that as the healthcare system for transgender youth struggles, more young individuals suffer.

‘The revelations highlighted in this FOI are alarming yet, regrettably, not unexpected,’ she remarked.

‘At Anne Health, we witness the tangible effects of these delays daily as young individuals denied gender-affirming healthcare experience deteriorating mental health and engage in self-destructive behaviors.’

Among these individuals is Mary, a mother of a transgender teenager who concurs with Anne’s conclusion – that healthcare for transgender youth is in ‘crisis.’

‘To some, we may appear to be the “fortunate” ones. My daughter was already part of the NHS system under the former Tavistock, having been seen in Leeds,’ Mary, not her real name, shared.

‘We were at the front of the queue for the newly “improved” service as recommended by the Hilary Cass review. Our primary concern has not been the lengthy waiting lists, but rather the alterations in practices and policies that do not meet my daughter’s and others’ needs promptly.’

Gender-affirming healthcare for transgender youth encompasses counseling and under ‘rigorous criteria,’ hormone therapy, as per the guidelines.NHS.

Puberty blockers – which function as a suspension for puberty – are no longer available on the NHS for transgender youth following guidance from the Cass Report that highlighted a lack of ‘evidence regarding safety and clinical efficacy’.

This week, the Government declared that blockers for individuals under 18 who experience gender dysphoria will be prohibited indefinitely.

Mary expressed her discontent, stating, ‘Trans youth deserve more. My daughter deserves more. She has been living her true self since she was nine years old,’ she noted.

‘Due to the collapse of NHS services, we sought alternative private assistance but always held hope that the NHS would ultimately provide the necessary support; established best practices for trans youth effectively utilized in various other nations.

‘However, our appointment at the new NHS service felt pathologizing, with the focus entirely on mental health care.

‘Confronted with a 15-year-old who has been joyfully embracing their identity with our support, both socially and medically, the service offered no solutions. In fact, the only recommendation was for us to be discharged from their care.’

The longer trans youth remain devoid of gender-affirming support, the greater their susceptibility to depression and anxiety, researchers assert.

Mary is acutely aware of how affirming her child’s gender identity has positively impacted her mental wellbeing.

‘As a parent, I will do everything in my power to help and safeguard my child. This includes ensuring she receives the medical support necessary for her to flourish,’ she remarked.

‘She relies on me to keep her happy and secure.’

An NHS representative informed Metro: ‘The NHS has consistently stated that the new services for children and young people would prioritize the evaluation and treatment of patients being transferred from the now-defunct GIDS service before attending to new patients.

‘Our new facilities, including the latest center that launched in November, are now caring for patients from the waiting list, providing a revamped, comprehensive model of care in accordance with the recommendations from the Cass Review.’

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