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Scotland’s current system of having just 4 gender identity clinics (GIC) trying to meet the need of all trans and non-binary people who need gender affirming care simply isn’t working.
Currently, health boards who do not have a GIC in their jurisdiction refer people to the few that do have one. This essentially means that people are told to join the back of a queue that will never end, and if they do ever get an appointment, it may be a long way from where they live and with no local support in the meantime.
There is loads of work to do to improve trans healthcare across the whole of Scotland.
However, the Sandyford GIC in Glasgow has the longest waiting lists – and half of the health boards in the country send people there. We want to focus on these areas first, as we think that could make the biggest difference to the most trans people.
We want to write letters to each of the health boards that refer people to the Sandyford. And we want you to co-sign them and help us bring the scale of this crisis to their attention.
Once we have enough signatures for each health board, we’ll send the letter and request a meeting for everyone who’s signed on along with Scottish Trans staff. The letters will encourage these health boards to see if they could deliver gender affirming care, and/or provide support to people on long waiting lists and offer harm reduction services for those who are self-medicating.
Currently, the only NHS Scotland health boards that have GICs are: Greater Glasgow and Clyde, Lothian, Highland, and Grampian.
Our letters will be focused on the health boards that do not have a GIC themselves, but refer people to Sandyford. This includes:
If you are trans or non-binary and live within one of the health boards we are writing to, then you can sign on to one of our letters below. (For more information on NHS health boards, see here.)
Below we’ve included the full text of what the letters will say (using the example of writing to Ayrshire & Arran healthboard), and then a short survey that you can use to add your signature.
If you have any questions about this work, please contact ryan@equality-network.org
Dear [name],
We are a group of trans and non-binary people living in Ayrshire & Arran, gathered by Scottish Trans, who are writing to you to request a meeting to discuss the support and health needs of trans and non-binary people living in your health board.
Currently, trans and non-binary people who wish to access gender affirming care in order to transition in Ayrshire & Arran are referred to the Sandyford Gender Service in Glasgow.
Recent data from Public Health Scotland, as well as information shared with Scottish Trans from FOI releases, show that the current waiting times to access this service are, to be frank, outrageous. A person who joined the waiting list today would expect to wait in excess of 75 years if the service continues to offer less than 50 appointments to new patients a year when more than 3000 are waiting. This means that many people on the waiting list or who may join in the future are unlikely to ever be seen by the service.
We believe that the current situation is a crisis that warrants an emergency response from all health boards across Scotland. We are writing to you to bring the situation to your attention and to request a meeting with you to discuss actions your healthboard could take, such as:
We would welcome the opportunity to discuss the above with you and to facilitate you meeting with trans and non-binary people in your area to discuss their experiences and the personal impact of these waiting times. We appreciate that you will all have busy diaries so are happy to arrange a time that would work for you.
Yours Sincerely,
[Signatures]
Fill in the survey below to add your name to our letters to Scottish health boards. As we are just currently writing to health boards that refer to Sandyford in Glasgow, we unfortunately can’t include anyone who lives outside of these areas.
Create your own user feedback survey
If you are having trouble viewing the embedded survey, please use this link instead: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/cantkeepwaiting
30 Bernard Street Edinburgh EH6 6PR
+44 (0)131 467 6039 info@scottishtrans.org
Scottish Trans is part of the Equality Network
Scottish Trans is the Equality Network project to improve gender identity and gender reassignment equality, rights and inclusion in Scotland. The Equality Network is a leading Scottish lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) equality and human rights charity.
The Equality Network is a registered Scottish charity: SC037852, and a company limited by guarantee: SC220213.
We are grateful for funding from the Scottish Government
