The number discovered in a recently released data set from the largest state-funded pediatric gender clinic in the United Kingdom has shown thousands of teens sitting in clinic backlogs as they await services.
As of July 2022, Tavistock Clinic’s Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS) made public referral data that indicated that well over 5,000 kids and teens were attempting to secure gender-related services between 2021-2022. Official documents which came into the possession of Reuters discovered that there were thousands of additional minors sitting on one GIDS waiting list, highlighting a much more expansive picture of the teens attempting to try and medically transition throughout the U.K.
The review from Reuters of the document from the state-funded National Health Service (NHS) highlights “at least 8,000 young people in England and Wales waiting to receive gender care” as of October 2022.
As highlighted by GIDS, 5,234 minors attempted to secure services in the financial year that ended back in march 2022. Between the period of April to October, “over 1,000 young people” were issued referrals, explained the clinic. Just about ten years ago the number sat at just 210, indicating that the overall annual referrals to the GIDS clinic spiked by close to 2400% since that time.
New information that was reviewed by Reuters indicated that just about 7,696 kids and teens were still sitting on the waiting list for their scheduled appointment with GIDS as of July 2022. This particular number has spiked by about 67% from back in October 2020 when the NHS watchdog, Care Quality Commission (CQC), looked over GIDS and discovered 4,600 kids on the waiting list.
Even these staggering numbers do not represent the entire picture, as a number of minors across the U.K. attempt to get increased access to puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and gender-related surgeries outside state-sponsored clinics, such as via private practice or through private health insurance.
Instead of waiting on the list for an average of three years, a number of English kids have chosen to seek out private providers such as GenderGP, which is an online clinic out of Singapore that carries out its work without supervision from the NHS. The company stated to Reuters that roughly 800 kids are currently attempting to secure their services and are the majority of a quickly growing section of its U.K. patient population.
Despite GIDS being set to close down after Dr. Hilary Cass carried out an independent review which discovered a number of extreme ethical concerns in how the clinic operates, is still currently booking new appointments for those that reach the top of the massive waiting list prior to its shutdown in spring 2023.