Vaughan Gething, Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Services
I would like to update Members on the progress of improvements to gender identity services. Work continues to establish the multi-disciplinary Wales Gender Team which, subject to the recruitment of specialist staff, will start seeing patients at the end of October. The lead clinician and service manager have been appointed and recruitment is underway for the Advanced Nurse Practitioner.
I am also pleased to announce that Cardiff and Vale University Health Board has confirmed that arrangements will be in place by September for patients who have been seen and assessed by the London Gender Identity Clinic to continue their treatment here in Wales. I realise from my interactions with the trans community the importance of having access to prescribing locally, and this development is targeted towards the area of most need – with most patients awaiting hormone replacement therapy living in the Cardiff and Vale University Health Board area. Other health boards have also put similar arrangements in place.
These improvements follow our additional £500,000 investment per year to improve gender identity services in Wales and will provide the platform for the implementation of a fully integrated service which is planned for next year.
As with all NHS Wales patients, I feel strongly that transgender people should be able to have their healthcare needs met as close to home as possible and I hope that these developments start the process of real and tangible improvements for the trans community.