Waiting times

There continues to be a high demand for appointments in our service. This is due to a large increase in the number of referrals over the last few years. We are currently receiving an average of 350 referrals per month. We must also ensure that we continue to provide care for those currently being seen in our service.

Our GIC is not an outlier – nationally, waiting times to be seen at gender identity clinics are very long. We appreciate how difficult it must be for you to not know when your appointment will be. We will therefore refresh our current waiting list data monthly to give you indicative timelines of how long you might wait for your first appointment.

Please be assured that we take your concerns very seriously. This is a national issue across all gender clinics. We are collectively working with the other clinics and our commissioner, NHS England, to find meaningful solutions to address waiting times. We are doing all we can to see patients as quickly as possible and are currently are actively recruiting more staff to our clinic.

Answers to common waiting list questions

If I want to be transferred to another UK adult GIC, will I have to join their waiting list?

If you are currently on our waiting list and have not yet been seen for your first appointment: you should contact your GP to re-refer you to your preferred UK GIC, you must also contact us to inform us of this so we can then discharge you from our service. However, we would advise that you contact the preferred GIC to enquire about the waiting times, as their waiting times may be longer.

If you have started to receive care in our service and wish to move to a different clinic: either you or (with your consent) your new preferred GIC can contact us requesting your records. This is known as a transfer of care. You would not join that clinic's main waiting list, but the wait for your next appointment would be determined by the new clinic.

If I transfer to your waiting list from another adult GIC, will you take into account my previous waiting time?

Unfortunately we are not able to honour original referral dates for people transferring between clinics. If you wish to transfer to our clinic, you will have to be re-referred.

Are you able to offer advice about hormone treatment while I am on the waiting list?

We are not able to offer this advice. If you are self-prescribing, it is your GP's decision as to whether they prescribe or do blood monitoring. If your GP wishes to seek advice from us, they may write to us or visit the GP support section of this website. They may also wish to use our Shared Care Protocol to inform any advice and support that they give to you following assessment and consultation. The Shared Care Protocol should not be used without appropriate medical consultation and assessment.

I was waiting to be seen by the Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS) when I turned 18 – will my time waiting with them ‘count’ on your waiting list?

Your place on our waiting list will reflect the date of your original GIDS referral.

I had one appointment at the Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS) before I turned 18 – will my time waiting with them ‘count’ on your waiting list?

Your place on our waiting list will reflect the date of your original GIDS referral.

I have had two or more appointments with GIDS – how will that affect my waiting time?

Your care will be transferred directly to us to continue treatment, if you wish to be seen at our clinic. The gap between your last GIDS appointment and your first appointment with us should be about the same as the gap between any follow ups at our clinic.

GIDS patients with a non-NHS England GP (for example those in Wales or Guernsey) may have to be referred to us via a local health board.

Support while you are waiting

While waiting, we encourage you to look online for LGBTQI+ resources and communities local to you. Through these you can find information, and may be able to meet other trans* and nonbinary people either online or in-person.

Please be mindful when online – not all the information out there is true or safe.

For more information see our ‘Support groups and resources’ page.