Scots gender services struggle as patients wait up to 5 years despite 12-week goal

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Thousands of individuals in Scotland are waiting years to receive gender identity care despite the national target for wait times being 12 weeks. Public Health Scotland (PHS) data reveals out of the current 5,640 people awaiting treatment, 4,209 (75%) have been on hold for up to three years.

The remaining 1,431 patients have been waiting over three years, with 184 not seen in more than five years. Almost all of those waiting over three years (98%) are awaiting an appointment at an NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde adult or young person clinic.

In April, the Scottish Government confirmed wait times for gender identity services would fall under national targets, including the aim of 95% of outpatients waiting no longer than 12-weeks from referral to being seen. PHS data also indicates a rising number of people seeking access to gender identity services.

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As of March, 5,640 people were waiting for their first outpatient appointment, marking a 7% increase from last year. This includes 4,643 adults and 997 young people.

Over the past year, at least 1,680 referrals were made, although PHS suggests this may be an undercount as people are transferred between clinics. In 2023/24, 596 patients had their initial outpatient appointment at a gender identity service.

Nearly two-thirds (64%) of these occurred at NHS Lothian, with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde adult service accounting for 23%, NHS Grampian for 7%, and NHS Highland for 5%. The NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde GIC for young people saw less than 2% of the wait times.

Vic Valentine, Scottish Trans manager, described the excruciatingly long waits as "unbearable". They remarked: "It’s really important to remember that this data is talking about real people’s lives.

"It’s almost impossible to imagine how distressing it must be for someone who has already been waiting five years for an appointment and may still not have a date in sight. We know that people waiting for an appointment often struggle with their mental health and self-esteem, and feel like they are 'stuck'.

"Waiting this long will make all that worse. Things have to be done differently if there is any hope of tackling these unbearable waits."

Bringing further attention to the need for change, Valentine added: "The clinics that have made the biggest improvements are the ones that have recognised that not all gender identity healthcare needs to be delivered by psychologists and psychiatrists.

"We hope that health boards across the country will take the publication of today’s data on waiting times really seriously. While only four health boards host gender identity clinics, trans and non-binary people live the length and breadth of Scotland. We need everyone to work together on improving gender identity services to give trans people a decent chance to live happy, healthy lives."

Public health minister Jenni Minto stated: "It is clear that performance is not yet at the level we all wish to see, and more needs to be done. This is, however, not unique to Scotland. This nationally collated data will be an important tool for driving service improvement.

"Whilst the dataset highlights regional variation and areas for improvement, it also highlights progress some health boards have made during the reporting period. We continue to support health boards to reduce long waits."

"I remain determined that people using these services are our priority and should be at the heart of all our discussions about how this care is provided."

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