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Thousands of children are still waiting for gender care despite the opening of two specialist hubs, according to the latest NHS figures.
NHS England data showed 5,769 children were waiting an average of 100 weeks for care in May after the services led by Great Ormond Street Hospital (Gosh) and Alder Hey Children’s Hospital were opened in April.
The hubs were opened following the closure of the Gender Identity Development Service (Gids) run by the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust.
At the point Gids closed at the end of March, the number of children on the national waiting list was 5,560. The number rose to 5,769 by the end of May.
The data has been described by experts as “concerning” and “deeply depressing”, as they emphasised the importance of children and young people having “timely access to the professional care and support they need”.
Dr Roman Raczka, president of the British Psychological Society, said: “These latest figures make for concerning reading. It is imperative that children and young people have timely access to the professional care and support they need.
“We must remember that behind the numbers, headlines and often toxic public discourse, there are children and young people who need to access care.
“All too often the issue of gender care which has played out in public has been damaging to the children, young people and families desperately seeking help and this must change.”
Of the 127 patients transferred from Gids to the Gosh gender service, all had been met for a first appointment by the end of May.
Alder Hey said all 109 patients transferred from Gids to its gender service were scheduled to be seen for a first appointment between its opening and 30 June.
The two new centres, which currently serve patients across England and Wales, have around 40 full-time equivalent staff (FTE) staff, the figures also showed.
When it opened, the Alder Hey hub had 7.8 FTE staff, a figure which has since risen to 15.7 FTE staff as of 31 May.
Meanwhile the Gosh hub had 14.63 FTE staff employed on opening, with the figure increasing to 24.23 WTE staff by the end of June.
The figures do not refer to the headcount of people employed but instead to the number of FTE positions, which allows the workforce for both clinics to be compared.
In its response to the Cass Review in April, NHS England acknowledged that the “transformation and expansion” of its gender care service “will take time to fully deliver, and the pace of progress will continue to be impacted by staffing challenges”.
NHS England has previously said it hopes the two centres will be the first of up to eight specialist centres as part of the north and south hubs over the next two years.
It is understood NHS Wales Joint Commissioning Committee (JCC) hopes to work with NHS England to consider a regional centre in Wales in the future.
In her final report, Dr Hilary Cass said the length of the waiting list to access gender services has “significant implications” for children and their families.
