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We are aware that the time young people have to wait for a first appointment here at GIDS is long. We are working hard to reduce waiting times, including with our commissioners NHS England.
These longer waiting times come after a large increase in the number of referrals to our service over the past few years.
It is not possible to give individual expected wait times in an accurate way. We know that it is frustrating not to have a firm figure for how long you might have to wait, but waiting times can change. We might mislead people if we try to be too precise about future waiting times.
We are currently seeing young people for their first appointment in GIDS who were referred in 2019.
Here are some things that can affect waiting times:
Because these factors can be hard to predict, the waiting times we give may unfortunately increase over time as well as go down.
For more information, see our advice for parents on how to help your child whilst waiting for input.
Since Thursday 23 March 2023, GIDS is no longer holding or managing the waiting list for Children and Young People’s Gender Dysphoria Services.
The waiting list and all new referrals are being held by Arden and Greater East Midlands Commissioning Support Unit (Arden & GEM CSU) on behalf of NHS England.
You can contact them on agem.CYP-GD@nhs.net with any queries.
Read more about the referrals process.
See the number of referrals we have received each year for the past ten years.
We are commissioned to see young people who are under the age of 18, and we have a long waiting list. This means that some young people on our waiting list will not be seen by our service before they turn 18. We are very sorry that we are not able to see these young people in GIDS, and are working to reduce our waiting times.
We know that this transfer can be difficult, and are working with our commissioners to arrange extra support for young people moving to adult services.
We have an agreement with the eight adult gender identity clinics in England and Wales: we can transfer our referrals to them, and they will honour the time spent on our waiting list.
If you reach the age of 17 and 9 months while on our waiting list (or if you are referred to our service from that age), we will send you a letter, asking if you would like to be transferred to the waiting list of an adult gender identity clinic, and which one you would prefer. If you want to be transferred, we will contact your preferred GIC and you will be added to their waiting list. They will take into account the amount of time that you have waited to be seen by GIDS.
Read some information about finding a community
Read some information about coping with difficult feelings
Read some information about what to do if you are low or depressed
Parents: read more about supporting your child whilst waiting for input