Hertfordshire transgender services study finds ‘unmet need and suffering’

Sonny van Eden, lead researcher into the report on transgender services in Hertfordshire Archant

A study by a Welwyn Garden City charity into the needs of Hertfordshire’s transgender community has discovered a “large amount of unmet need and suffering”.

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"I hope as a result of this work that people can have a sense of identity and belonging, and people that would have been isolated know they’re not alone." Sonny Van Eden



The report, overseen by mental health charity Viewpoint, in Bridge Road East, has called for a major overhaul of the way transgender people are treated.

According to the document, which was shortlisted for an NHS award, 117 people are known by GPs in the county to be transgender – but the real number could be much higher.

Lead researcher Sonny Van Eden, a trans man from Hertford, told the WHT: “I know the numbers are small, but out of everyone that completed one of the questions about suicide or self harm, 100 per cent had either tried to commit suicide or self harmed.

“I hope as a result of this work that people can have a sense of identity and belonging, and people that would have been isolated know they’re not alone.”

The report made a raft of recommendations, including ensuring GPs make sure people with realigned genders are given appropriate cancer screening, reducing waiting times for the transition process and providing specialist counselling.

It concluded: “Transgender people face great challenges to realise their true identities and many take years to seek help to change the gender they were given at birth because of stigma.

“When they do so, they find that the majority of professionals have limited knowledge about transgender health care.”

The document, titled Herfordshire Transgender Health Needs Assesment, was the first in-depth study anywhere in the country.

It was highly commended in the NHS Excellence in Public Participation award.

Mr Van Eden said: “I think it’s quite amazing to have people from the NHS and mental health charities taking part.

“It’s quite an achievement to do something for such a minority community group, especially in a blue Conservative area.”

Jane Brown, from Healthwatch Hertfordshire, said: “We’re really proud that the work we’ve done in Hertfordshire has got this recognition.

“Eight in 10 trans people have at some point seriously considered suicide, and this report will hopefully allow us to provide much better support for members of this community, not just locally, but nationally.”

A copy of the report can be found at www.healthwatch hertfordshire.co.uk