Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance his Department provides to ensure that GPs approach (a) shared care and (b) collaboration with gender identity specialists in the same way as other specialists.

The Department has not issued guidance relating to shared care agreements. The General Medical Council’s guidance states that general practitioners (GPs) should collaborate with a Gender Dysphoria Clinic (GDC) to provide effective and timely treatment for patients, including prescribing medicines on the recommendation of an experienced gender specialist, and that it is reasonable for a GP to expect the GDC to provide timely support and advice where necessary.

The Royal College of General Practitioners’ position statement on the role of the GP in transgender healthcare sets out that GPs should “liaise and work with Gender Identity Clinics in the same way as with any other specialist. This includes consideration of prescribing under a shared care agreement”.