![Pinterest](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://uknews.evprotec.com/trans-people-can-wait-seven-years-for-nhs-initial-assessment/&media=https://uknews.evprotec.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/124947101_kazself.jpg&description=Image source, Kaz Self Image caption, Kaz Self has been on the NHS waiting list for hormone treatment since March 2018 Transgender people in England have faced waits of up to seven years for an initial NHS assessment, data seen by the BBC shows. The South West's only gender identity clinic has the longest backlog, with an average wait of 90 months. NHS England say people should be seen within 18 weeks of referral and blamed delays on an "increase in demand". Trans woman Kaz Self, who waited for five years for an appointment, said the system was "dysfunctional". The second longest average waiting times - after those at the Laurels Exeter Specialist Gender Identity Clinic in Devon - were seen at the recently closed Tavistock gender clinic in London, at 54 months, the figures show. The lowest average wait of 28 months was at the Nottingham Centre for Transgender Health, the data obtained through a Freedom of Information (FOI) request shows. The clinical commissioning group (CCG) in Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire, which covers Exeter, said demand had been "impossible to meet". The CCG added the service had not been designed for current needs and was being reviewed. Ms Self had been waiting for an initial appointment since March 2018 before she was seen in 2023 by a clinic in London. She is a volunteer for Trans Pride South West team and has been getting private treatment for years. "I was really concerned to hear from [the clinic] that it may take years to get a follow-up appointment. I had to question the clinician to make sure I heard her say years and not months," Ms Self said. She said she knew trans people were not alone in waiting for healthcare on the NHS. "But when you then combine that with UK societal attitudes to trans people, I cannot pretend it doesn't have an impact on me," she added. "As a lone voice it feels that you are hopeless to counteract false narratives and this adds to the anxiety and mental health concerns caused by poor trans){kind=link}
Transgender people in England have faced waits of up to seven years for an initial NHS assessment, data seen by the BBC shows.
The South West’s only gender identity clinic has the longest backlog, with an average wait of 90 months.
NHS England said people should be seen within 18 weeks of referral and blamed delays on an “increase in demand”.
Trans woman Kaz Self, who waited for five years for an appointment, said the system was “dysfunctional”.
The second longest average waiting times – after those at the Laurels Exeter Specialist Gender Identity Clinic in Devon – were seen at the recently closed Tavistock gender clinic in London, at 54 months, the figures show.