This story was first published in digitalhealth.net
Transgender patients self-medicating because of waits
Transgender patients are increasingly choosing to self-medicate with online-bought hormones from unregulated sources due to waiting times to see NHS specialists.
Currently, more than 13,500 transgender and non-binary adults are on waiting lists for NHS gender identity clinics in England.
The BBC has reported that some patients wait over two years to be seen, despite the target time being 18 weeks across England. Gender identity clinics in Belfast (166 weeks), Nottinghamshire (145 weeks) and Northumberland (127 weeks) have the longest maximum wait times for patients waiting to be seen by a specialist, from referral.
NHS Highland's gender identity clinic (32 weeks) has the shortest maximum wait.
It is understood that a lack of medical professionals wanting to specialise in trans healthcare had also added to wait times, for which a new Royal College of Physicians pathway had been established.
NHS England told the BBC in a statement: "As more people feel able to seek support and treatment, the demand for gender identity services has greatly increased, and in recent years we've increased investment to respond to the rising demand, with staff working hard to support patients to get the right care as quickly as possible. From the spring a new service will be piloted in London that will increase capacity in gender identity services."
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