Transgender health services under strain amid rising referrals

The number of transgender people seeking treatment has risen dramatically, with NHS gender identity services struggling to cope with demand.

According to figures obtained by The Guardian, all 14 gender identity clinics in the UK have seen a huge surge in referrals in recent years, leading to increased waiting times for treatment.

The West London Gender Identity Clinic at Charing Cross Hospital, the oldest and largest clinic for adults, has seen referrals almost quadruple in ten years, while a clinic in Nottingham reported a 28-fold rise in eight years.

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"Waiting times for a first appointment at a gender identity clinic are about nine months on average for adults and half that for children," the newspaper reports. "One in six adults wait more than a year."

LGBT activists warn that long waiting times for people seeking treatment can be dangerous, with trans people already reporting much higher rates of suicide and depression than the rest of the population.

"People are completely on their own, sometimes for up to three years, dealing with issues around gender that are potentially life-threatening," Louie Stafford, the trans programme coordinator for the LGBT Foundation, told the paper. "It's not surprising that people get desperate in that time-frame."

Keith Reynold, a trans student from Surrey, said he had not had any medical intervention in three years and is "desperate" for hormones and surgery.

"I have to wear baggy clothes to hide my hips, I have to think about how many layers I have to wear to hide my chest," he told The Guardian.

"I really understand that the NHS is overstretched because there's a sudden influx of people being referred. I completely understand why, but that doesn't stop the frustration."

A landmark government report published earlier this year concluded that trans people are being failed by Britain's legal, healthcare and criminal justice systems.

The NHS bore the brunt of the criticism, with MPs highlighting unacceptably long waiting times for treatment, a lack of understanding and sensitivity from doctors as well as outright discrimination.