Trans Charity brands surgery pause 'unprecedented'
Transactual say Welsh patients are being penalised
There are calls for gender-affirming surgeries in Wales to resume, after the Welsh Gender Service was instructed to pause its adult surgical pathway.
The NHS Wales Joint Commissioning Committee has ordered the pause while an independent clinical review is carried out.
The review will look at how patients are referred and assessed for surgery, as well as why Wales has seen significantly higher rates of surgical referrals than England over the past year.
It has not been revealed how long the review is expected to take or when surgeries will resume.
The pause has already affected patients waiting for procedures, with some reportedly being told their operations had been cancelled at very short notice.
TransActual, a charity campaigning for better healthcare and rights for trans people, is calling for the surgical pathway to restart.
Shay Brown, Head of Healthcare at TransActual, says “It feels like people in Wales are being penalised. It’s ludicrous!”.
They say the pause has already caused harm to patients and warn that this will continue if surgeries do not resume.
The NHS Wales Joint Commissioning Committee says the pause is needed for urgent clinical assurance work.
The review is expected to examine referral patterns and clinical processes before a decision is made on restarting the service.
Campaigners are calling for greater clarity from NHS Wales and assurances that patients will not face further unnecessary delays to their care.