If you have just been referred to the clinic, or are about to be referred, here is what happens next.
- We receive the referral from your GP or another approved NHS provider.
- We screen the referral to make sure it is okay (for example, we check that we are the intended recipients, or that there is enough information and confirm the mandatory fields are filled in)
- Please ensure that the email address you wish us to contact you on matches with the email address you have given your GP.
- If your referral is accepted, we post you a New Patient Pack. This includes:
- a letter of receipt of your referral
- forms to be completed
- Please return these forms to us within four weeks of receiving them. Taking longer than four weeks may delay our processing of your referral.
- We receive your forms and you are added to our waiting list. The waiting list is for patients who are waiting for a first appointment at our clinic.
- Due to the large rise in referrals, you may be on the waiting list for quite a while before you next hear from us. First appointments can be over 24 months after the date of your referral. Read more on our current waiting times page.
- Please advise us of any changes while you are waiting, for example if you change your name or your address. See our ‘updating your details’ page for more information.
- We usually book appointments six to eight weeks ahead of the actual appointment in question. So, after you have been on the waiting list for a while, we will send you a letter (or a text if you have agreed to receive texts) to let you know the date and time of your appointment.
If you need any medical assistance while you are waiting for your first appointment, please contact your GP or the relevant health care professional.
Patients can choose to be transferred to the following Gender Identity Clinics:
- Sheffield Health and Social Care NHS Foundation Trust Gender Dysphoria Service
- Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust Gender Dysphoria Service
- Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust Northern Region Gender Dysphoria Service
- Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust Gender Dysphoria Clinic
- Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust The Nottingham Centre for Transgender Health
- Devon Partnership NHS Trust West of England Specialist Gender Dysphoria Clinic
The Tavistock and Portman Gender Identity Clinic cannot transfer patients to pilot clinics because access to these services is only available to people who are already on the waiting list to be seen at this GIC. Those patients who are transferred to pilot clinics are selected by NHS England, not this GIC, based on the patients’ geographical location.