More than 1,100 Scots waiting five years for first NHS gender appointment

More than 1,100 Scots have been waiting five years or more for their first appointment at an NHS gender identity clinic, new figures have shown.

Official data from Public Health Scotland showed both the number of people on a waiting list for such clinics and the length of waits had increased.

As of March 31 this year there were 6,435 patients waiting for their first outpatient appointment at a gender identity clinic – which provide specialist care for people “experiencing distress related to their gender identity”.

The waiting list for appointments increased 5.1% in 2025-26, with the number of patients waiting 22% higher than June 2023, when such data was first collected.

A total of 413 patients had their first outpatient appointment with a gender identity specialist last year, with this down 41% from 2024-25.

Just over a third (35.3%) had been on the waiting list for two years or less, with 1,146 people – 17.8% of those on the list – having been waiting for five years or more.

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The Scottish Government recognises that the waiting times to access these services remain unacceptably long and the impact that this can have on those waiting and their families.

“We continue to work closely with health boards to reduce waiting times, ensure patients receive compassionate care and to provide access to support for patients who are waiting.

“Scottish Government funding has now been provided to health boards on a recurring basis to support improvements across Scotland’s gender identity clinics including the recruitment of additional staff to expand multi-disciplinary teams, improve communications with patients and to develop new resources and processes to support people on waiting lists.”