Coronavirus - changes to this service

The Coronavirus outbreak has caused disruption to our service and unfortunately this does mean that our current waiting times are likely to increase. Your position on our waiting list will be not be affected. 

If you are struggling during this period and you'd like to speak to someone our confidential support line, delivered by our partners Gendered Intelligence, is available Monday, Tuesday and Thursday 2pm to 7pm and Wednesday and Friday 10am to 3pm.

You can call them on 0330 3559 678 or email supportline@genderedintelligence.co.uk 

To find out more about the changes we've made across the Trust during the Coronavirus outbreak at shsc.nhs.uk/coronavirus

The Sheffield Gender Identity Clinic, also known as the Porterbrook Clinic, is a service for adults with concerns about their gender identity. We are one of eight gender identity clinics in the UK commissioned by NHS England. 

We are proud to provide specialist services to transgender and non-binary people. We are passionate about providing culturally competent, developmentally appropriate and trans-affirmative professional care and management to the people that seek our services. 

Our multidisciplinary team is made up from medical and nursing staff who work alongside a range of allied health professionals. 

People who attend our service may be seeking a range of treatment options, including psycho-social transitional support, or medical treatment to alleviate gender identity distress. 

The service is open to anyone over the age of 18 who has concerns about their gender identity. 

How to access our service

Referrals are accepted from any commissioned NHS healthcare professional or provider.

Typically, people are referred by their GP. If a referral is made by another healthcare professional we will routinely liaise with your GP. If you have any concerns about this please contact the service in advance. 

Appointments

Due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic we are trying to keep attendance at the clinic to a minimum. 

We can offer you a range of appointments which you can attend from home. We use an online tool called 'Attend Anywhere' to do this.

Your clinician may discus with you whether an in-person appointment at the clinic is appropriate. 

If you have arranged an appointment on Attend Anywhere you need to click here and wait for your clinician to connect. Before your appointment please read through our pre-appointment information sheet.

If you are struggling to connect to Attend Anywhere please take a look at our user guide. 

Frequently asked questions

If you have any questions about accessing our service you can take a look at our frequently asked questions page.

Waiting times

Our waiting times have increased due to an unprecedented demand for our service, which has further increased due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic.

We are currently booking appointments for people who were referred to the service in beginning of February 2018. These individuals have had to wait an average of 39 months.

We are booking transfer of care appointments from January 2020.

Individual waiting times are variable and unfortunately we cannot give specific times for individual waits.

Please do not contact the clinic to enquire about waiting times as we cannot provide any more information than is provided within this section.

If you have received confirmation that your referral has been accepted we will not remove you from the list.

You must keep us updated of any changes to your contact details.

We know how difficult it may feel not knowing when you might start the assessment process with our service.

If you are waiting for an appointment please take a look at this letter which outlines the support available while you are waiting. 

Support while you are waiting

The service has partnered with a trans-led, confidential and independent telephone and information service to provide help, support and reassurance to patients waiting for their first appointment with us.

This is delivered by Gendered Intelligence – an organisation which is committed to improving the lives of trans people. 

Contact details

This service can be contacted on Monday, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2 to 7pm and Wednesdays and Fridays from 10am to 3pm. Contacts made outside of these hours will be picked up and responded to as soon as possible. Please do make use of this service to discuss any concerns or queries you may have ahead of your first appointment.

If you require any support or assistance with your physical or mental health while you are waiting to be seen by our service, please contact your GP or NHS 111. If you are feeling distressed, the Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123.
 

Information for GPs

If you are a GP looking to make a referral to our service, please take a look at our advice page before making a referral. 

Find out more

Eligibility and selection criteria

You can take a look at our service eligibility and selection criteria by clicking here. 

Coronavirus survey

The Coronavirus pandemic has brought a lot of changes to our lives, and it has also meant we've had to make some temporary changes to the way we provide our support.

We carried out a survey of our service users to ask about your experience during the pandemic to find out what we've done well and where we can make improvements.

You can take a look at the results of the survey for the Gender Identity Clinic by clicking here.

Sharing your feedback on Care Opinion

Care Opinion is an independent organisation that gives you the chance share your experience of using our services, to help us make changes that benefit everyone. 

We want you to share honest feedback about our services. Good or bad we want to hear what you think. 

You can choose how much detail you want to go into about your personal story, but if there’s anything we could improve on we want to know. 

You can give feedback by filling in the form below.