Service update

Unfortunately due to staff shortages we have been unable to offer assessment and follow-up appointments in a timely way. We are pleased to say that we have now recruited to some key positions and after a period of training we expect to be able to offer more appointments shortly.

In the meantime, the sources of support we can direct you to are our Peer Support Workers or our partners Gendered Intelligence. 

Our Peer Support Workers can be contacted by e mail: porterbrooksupport@shsc.nhs.uk

Our partners Gendered Intelligence can be contacted by phone on 0330 3559678 or via email: supportline@genderedintelligence.co.uk

Sustanon® shortage- 12 April 2023 (for service users)

We are aware of hormone supply nationally, we advise that you take the following steps:

  1. Speak to your local pharmacist – they are best placed to know what preparations they can get access to in your local area.
  2. Share this information with your GP –the GP is best placed to know which of the available preparations they are authorised to prescribe in your area. The protocols we have shared in clinic letters provides information on specific doses of testosterone for each preparation.

Update to Progesterone Guidelines for GPs- 30 January 2023

Due to increased requests from our services users we have updated our guidelines for Progesterone prescription. Follow the link to the 'GPs information' page to find the new document. 
 

 

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

We aim to offer a number of different appointment types, including face to face or ‘virtual’ appointments. We use an online tool called Attend Anywhere for our virtual appointments. 

Your clinician may discuss 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. 

Waiting times

We are currently booking appointments for people who were referred to the service in July 2018. The longest wait time is currently 62 months as of September 2023. 

We are currently booking transfer of care from August 2021 as of September 2023 and further transfer of care referrals are in process to be added to our waiting list. 

(This information was last checked, reviewed and updated on 18 September 2023) 

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. Please 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

We have partnered with a charity called Gendered Intelligence who are a free trans-led, confidential help and support service for patients waiting for their first appointment with us.

You can find out more about the free support on offer by clicking here. 

Our Peer Support Workers can also provide assistance.

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

Cancer screening coproduction session

The clinic is running a session with people with lived experience of mental ill-health to explore people's understanding, narratives and fears of screening for cancer.

This session is open to people who are accessing or waiting to access the Gender Identity Clinic. You do not need to have had a cancer screening to take part. We welcome people from all backgrounds and the session will be friendly, transgender-inclusive and creative.

Find out more here.

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.