More than 700 people waiting five years for initial gender identity appointment

More than 700 people are waiting over five years for an initial first appointment with a gender identity clinic (GIC) in Scotland, according to new data.

The Public Health Scotland figures show that in March 2025 a total of 716 people were waiting more than five years for their first appointment at an NHS GIC.

The total is up 126 people since December 2024 and is an increase of 671 since June 2023.

In March 2025, there were 6,121 people waiting for a first outpatient appointment at an NHS GIC.

This represents an 16% increase of 848 people from the 5,273 waiting at June 30 2023.

The data shows that 700 individuals had a first outpatient appointment with an NHS gender identity specialist in 2024/25, which is an increase of 17% from the previous year.

It also shows just under half of referrals in 2024/25 were received for people aged 18 to 24 and more than a fifth were for those aged 25 to 34.

The NHS GIC quarterly aggregate data collection was introduced in April 2023 to collect national data on waiting times for adult and young person gender identity clinics in Scotland.

It looks at referrals, number and wait length of patients seen by a specialist for the first time, and number of individuals waiting and length of ongoing wait.

Public health minister Jenni Minto said: “We recognise the challenges facing NHS gender identity services and are committed to ensuring everyone can access appropriate, timely care.

“While the dataset highlights regional variation and areas for improvement, it also highlights the progress some health boards have made during the reporting period, with 17% more first appointments delivered across Scotland in 2024/25 compared to the preceding year.

“These examples of best practice will continue to be shared across the health system. We will continue to work constructively and collaboratively with NHS Scotland to build on improvements to date.

“Everyone deserves access to high-quality, person-centred healthcare and we remain committed to supporting gender identity services across Scotland.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “We acknowledge that too many people are experiencing unacceptably long waits for gender identity services.

“We are actively working with NHS boards to address capacity challenges and ensure people can access the care they need in a timely manner.”