The TransActual Healthcare Professionals Report 2025 shows that there is a pressing need for change
BY NIC CROSARA, PHOTOGRAPHS VIA UNSPLASH
If you’re tuned in to the many obstacles that trans people in the UK face, you’re likely well aware of how challenging it is to receive gender affirming healthcare. From people facing being on the waiting list for an initial appointment for over five years, to a large portion of parents unable to get onto shared care agreements, there are a lot of hurdles to face. But a recent report from TransActual highlighted the urgent need for the NHS to step up when it comes to providing adequate training on trans healthcare to their staff.
This report, published today (25 September), is believed to be the largest in-depth study to date in the UK into the experiences of UK healthcare workers when it comes to their confidence and comfort supporting trans patients. It found that the majority of GPs lack the training to support trans patients and that the NHS has not given them the resources to do better.
One of the insights shows how best practice often relies on healthcare workers seeking training outside the NHS, either at their own expense or by relying on patients’ own knowledge of their needs. While over two-thirds of respondents expressed confidence in their ability to assess and interact with trans patients, 31% were unsatisfied with the training they had received. GPs were noticeably unhappy with the lack of support when it came to prescribing hormone replacement therapy (HRT).
While, depending on who you are, these statistics might seem lower than expected, it is likely the responses are skewed towards those most supportive of their trans patients. In a report, due to be published this autumn by TransActual, (Trans Lives Report 2025), it was found that over half of respondents had experienced transphobia in a medical setting. On top of that, 97% of those who had experienced this, stated that it had been – at least in part – due to professionals’ lack of knowledge around trans issues.
Eager to find out more insights from professionals working with trans healthcare, I reached out to Dr Aiden Kelly, a consultant clinical psychologist and director at Gender Plus. “With no official training in trans healthcare available on the medical curriculum and the conversation becoming so toxic and polarising, it’s easy to understand how GPs might feel they lack the necessary skills and knowledge to make a real difference in the lives of trans people,” he told DIVA. “However, the reality is that transgender healthcare is no different to other disciplines in which specialist knowledge is required: it is best practice to work alongside a team with the necessary expertise. At Gender Plus, we work in a shared care capacity with GPs for more than half of our patients, providing expert insight and ensuring clinical complexity is not a barrier to care.”
“This report highlights how little access there is to high quality training on trans-inclusive care. Too often, trans patients themselves are the only source of CPD that GPs have access to, and this needs to change,” said Chay Brown, TransActual’s healthcare director. “It is essential that all GPs – and the wider medical professions – are trained to understand trans people’s healthcare needs and to offer high quality trans-inclusive care.”
You can read the full report here: transactual.org.uk/healthcare-professionals-report-25.
You can find out more about TransActual here: transactual.org.uk.
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