A new national support service has been launched to help trans and non-binary people cope while waiting for NHS gender identity healthcare, as thousands face years-long delays for first appointments.
LGBT Foundation and Gendered Intelligence have unveiled Waiting Well, a National Trans Waiting List Support Service designed to improve wellbeing and reduce isolation for people on NHS gender identity clinic waiting lists.
Around 42,000 people in England and Wales are currently waiting for their first NHS Gender Identity Clinic appointment. Average waits are about five years – around 14 times longer than the maximum referral‑to‑treatment waiting period set out in the NHS Constitution. Evidence also suggests that 71% of people on NHS waiting lists say their health worsened while waiting, underlining growing concern about the impact of prolonged delays.
Campaigners say the situation demonstrates an urgent need for change. While some trans people report waiting up to a decade for care, the newly launched service aims to ensure that waiting for vital healthcare is treated with dignity, respect and compassion.
Waiting Well has been created to improve people’s experience while they wait, helping them feel informed, supported and connected rather than isolated. Launching initially as a pilot programme, the service reflects both the immediate scale of need and a longer-term ambition for national rollout, until access to trans healthcare consistently meets the NHS’s 18‑week referral-to-treatment standard.
The programme offers a range of wellbeing-focused support, including peer support groups for people at different stages of their journey. These are complemented by gender‑affirming voice workshops and webinars to help individuals understand and prepare for gender identity healthcare.
The service has been shaped by trans and non-binary people and developed in collaboration with healthcare professionals. It brings together LGBT Foundation’s five decades of experience in LGBTQ+ health with Gendered Intelligence’s trans‑led, community-driven approach to wellbeing services.
Alex Matheson, Director of Inclusion at LGBT Foundation, said long waiting times had become a reality for many trans and non-binary people. “While pressures on a free national health service are real, waiting for care should never undermine dignity or wellbeing,” she said. “Too often, conversations about trans lives happen without trans people themselves. Working with Gendered Intelligence ensures this service is shaped by lived experience and models a more compassionate approach to waiting list care.”
The pilot is launching in South West England, where waiting times are among the longest in the country. Matty Herring, Senior Adult Wellbeing Practitioner at Gendered Intelligence, said the service would help demystify the gender clinic process and build community. “We know that many people in the South West are extremely isolated and disconnected from the trans community,” they said. “A service run by trans and non-binary people is vital in helping individuals know they are not alone.”
During the pilot phase, Waiting Well is open to people aged 18 and over who live in South West England and are registered with Exeter, also known as The Laurels, Gender Identity Clinic.
People can self‑refer online HERE or contact Gendered Intelligence’s dedicated Waiting Well phone line on 0330 355 9678. The helpline is open on Tuesdays from 10am to 1.30pm and Thursdays from 3pm to 6pm.
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