FAQs

We are the first team to provide all gender affirming surgeries available through the NHS gender dysphoria pathway. This includes:
Lower feminising surgery

·         Vulvoplasty

·         Vaginoplasty

Lower masculinising surgery

·         Metoidioplasty

·         Phalloplasty

·         Robotic hysterectomy & salpingoopherectomy (as part of metoidioplasty/phalloplasty pathway)

Masculinising chest surgery

·         Bilateral mastectomy & chest wall reconstruction

·         Periareolar surgery

More information can be found in our Patient Information Leaflets

Our team is made up of variety of consultants and clinical nurse specialists with different backgrounds who will all contribute to your care using a multi-disciplinary team approach, utilising everyone’s expertise to ensure the highest standards of care. We also offer a variety of services to support your wellbeing throughout your surgery journey including physiotherapy, dietetics, psychology support and peer support. We also have patient champions, whose role is to ensure trans community voices and patient experiences are recognised as our service continues to develop.

We follow national requirements around waiting list management but cannot provide wait list times whilst we are in the initial stages of the service. ​

This is an NHSE commissioned service, and therefore do not accept private referrals at present.

Yes, you will need to be referred through an NHS Gender Dysphoria Clinic How to find an NHS gender dysphoria clinic - NHS (www.nhs.uk). We are following pathways laid out in the NHS Service Specification for Gender Identity Services for Adults (Surgical Interventions) NHS-England-Service-Specification-for-Specialised-Gender-Dysphoria-Services-Surgical-v4.pdf. We do not accept private referrals. ​

You will need to be referred through an NHS Gender Dysphoria Clinic (NHS GDC). We are following pathways laid out in the NHS Service Specification for Gender Identity Services for Adults (Surgical Interventions). We unfortunately do not accept private referrals. ​

Please contact NHS Gender Dysphoria National Referral Support Services (GDNRSS) to let them know of your preference to be transferred over to our waiting list. Please be aware that if you transfer to our list, you will join the end of our waiting list. 

We do not offer bedside cots on our wards. We can provide recommendations for family/friends who wish to stay local to you. They will be able to visit during hospital visiting hours.

https://www.chelwest.nhs.uk/your-visit/wards-and-departments

Please speak to the team directly if you are a carer of a patient or have a carer and require additional support during your stay. ​

If you are eligible for NHS travel cost scheme (Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme (HTCS) - NHS www.nhs.uk) then you can apply for your travel to be reimbursed. ​

Our electronic patient system is connected to NHS Spine which is managed by your primary care provider (GP) and automatically refreshes our records to match the details your GP holds – which may be incorrect if you have yet to receive a new NHS number and updated GP records. Please see guidance here on how to make sure this has happened.

https://pcse.england.nhs.uk/help/patient-registrations/adoption-and-gender-re-assignment-processes/

Where required, please contact the team via the chelwest.ccgs@nhs.net email, so that your file can be updated.

As a Trust, we recognise how upsetting it is for our patients to receive incorrect details and are working with the electronic patient records team to develop more suitable methods of documenting your information.

Where required, please contact the team via the chelwest.ccgs@nhs.net email, so that your file can be updated.

For all surgeries available at CCGS, we require patients to have a BMI of 30 or under, to minimize the risk of complications during surgery and throughout the recovery process. If you require support surrounding diet or weight loss, we offer dietetic support and peer support.

Please note, GDNRSS will automatically reject top surgery referrals where patient has BMI over 40 and lower surgery referrals where BMI is over 35.

In most cases (unless you require post-op high dependency or intensive care) you will stay on a surgical ward. In most cases this will be David Evans Ward on the 5th floor of the main Chelsea and Westminster Hospital building. You will be allocated a bed either in a male or female bay (in cases of binary gender identity, this will be in line with your gender identity not your assigned sex at birth) or in some cases in a single-occupancy side room. If you are non-binary we will allocated a bed in the bay of your preference. We cannot guarantee whether you will be allocated a bed in a bay or side room as this depends on availability at the time of your surgery, however, will try to accommodate any requests where possible.

This can be discussed in more detail with your surgeon consultant once you have been referred. 

If you have concerns about your care, in the first instance, if you feel comfortable to do so, we recommend discussing these with a member of the clinical team, such as your named Clinical Nurse Specialist or Consultant. If you do not feel able to do this, or are dissatisfied with the outcome, you may wish to speak to the Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS):

Correspondence:
PALS
Chelsea and Westminster Hospital
369 Fulham Road
Kensington and Chelsea
London
SW10 9NH

Tel: 020 3315 6727
Email: cwpals@chelwest.nhs.uk

If you wish to make a formal complaint in writing, please see https://www.chelwest.nhs.uk/your-visit/advice-and-support for more information.