Skip to main content
FOI release

FOI – 2023-000158 Transgender Surgical Procedures (HTML)

Published on 18 May 2023

Date received - 07 May 2023 | Date responded - 18 May 2023

Request

Please provide data held for the financial years 2021/22 and 2022/23 for referrals for the following transgender surgical procedures.

  1. Female to male genital surgery
  2. Male to female genital surgery
  3. Specialist chest reconstructive surgery to create the appearance of a male chest

Please also break down the data for each year and type of surgery into age ranges, ie. under 18, 18-25, 26-40, over 40 years old.

Please also include number of referrals denied or cancelled for each year and type of surgery.

Response

I refer to your freedom of information request that we received on 07 May 2023.

I can advise you that we have now completed the search of our records and can provide you with the following information:

Please find attached Appendix 1 – Gender Statistics, detailing the requested information. Under Section 38 (1) (b) of FOISA, where patient numbers are less than 5, we have redacted this information to ensure no patient identifiable information is released in line with Caldicott Principles. Please note the following caveats when reviewing:

  • The breakdown by age range reflects the number of approved funding applications received by National Services Division (NSD) for gender reassignment surgery. It does not reflect the number of patients who have undergone surgery.
  • Pending referrals are where NSD is awaiting further information from the NHS Board/Gender Identity Clinic (GIC) in order to conclude funding decision.

I trust you will find the information of assistance and if you require any further information please do not hesitate to contact us.

If you are unhappy with any aspect of how we have dealt with your request you can make representations to us asking us to review the handling of your request.

If you require any further information please contact Associate Director Information Security & Governance, within 40 working days of the date of this correspondence.

Contact

Email: nss.foi@nhs.scot

Address

NHS National Services Scotland Headquarters Gyle Square 1 South Gyle Crescent Edinburgh EH12 9EB

If after a review you are still unhappy, you also have the right to apply to the Scottish Information Commissioner, who can be contacted at Kinburn Castle, St Andrews, Fife, KY16 9DS, or via their application form.

National Services Scotland (NSS) is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. You can view all FOI responses within our FOI Publications repository.