Over 40,000 people are on NHS waiting lists for gender care. In this Political by Design special, I sit down with Dr. Sam Hall to cut through the noise and talk about the real challenges and hope inside Britain’s trans health crisis.
When I sat down with Dr. Sam Hall for this special Political by Design episode, I knew the conversation would be important. What I didn’t expect was just how raw, eye-opening and, at times, unsettling it would feel.
I started Political by Design to create a space that looks at politics through the lense of branding. This special episode breaks out of this pattern. This episode is for Scene Magazine readers, for people who
Sam is not just a GP with decades of experience across the NHS. He’s also someone who has lived the realities of being trans in Britain today and has worked on the frontline of care. Until recently, he was a partner at WellBN in Brighton – home to the Trans Health Hub – a service that, against the odds, became a lifeline for thousands of patients.
We talked about a lot: the hostile history of trans healthcare in the UK, the current waiting lists that leave more than 40,000 people in limbo and the steady creep of legislation and policy that threatens to strip away rights once thought secure. Listening to Sam explain the reality of NHS provision, and how compassion and informed consent have been pushed aside in favour of outdated gatekeeping, was both sobering and galvanising.
However, this is not just a story of crisis. It's also, above all, about resilience, innovation and compassion. Sam described how small changes, such as GPs being willing to listen and services being willing to trust patients, can transform lives. Despite all the noise, he reminded me that what trans people are asking for is simple: to be seen and heard, and to have the freedom to make informed choices about their own bodies.
As Sam pointed out, the danger is very real: when healthcare systems close their doors, people’s lives are put at risk. We saw this in the early days of the AIDS crisis, when prejudice cost lives. We cannot afford to let history repeat itself.
What struck me most was the humanity in Sam’s words. Reflecting on this conversation, I keep coming back to one word: compassion. Modern politics, heavily influenced by ever-shortening attention spans and TikTok fever, has a way of stripping people of their humanity and reducing their lives to culture war headlines. But quiet, stubborn, radical compassion has always been the antidote.
This episode isn’t easy listening, but it is essential. If you care about the future of the NHS, about equality, or simply about how we treat one another, I hope you’ll take the time to hear Sam’s story.
🎧 Listen to the full episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or YouTube.
