Website update: Clinical Policies, Publications and Insight Hub are now located under Policies & Resources.
Content previously under Working With Us, including Become a Provider and Engagement & Consultations, can now be found under About Us.
Progress Update on the Welsh Gender Service Surgical Referral Pause – 23rd September 2026
The NHS Wales Joint Commissioning Committee (NWJCC) would like to provide an update on preparations for the independent review of patients referred for surgery by the Welsh Gender Service.
The overarching responsibility of the NWJCC is to ensure that the services it commissions offer patients a safe and high-quality service, and the decision to pause surgery was taken to ensure those standards are maintained. The NWJCC recognises, however, the uncertainty and worry that the pause in gender-affirming surgery has caused for patients waiting for surgery and their families and apologises for the distress this has caused.
On 24 August 2026, NWJCC took the decision to pause referrals for gender affirming surgery from the Welsh Gender Service, assessments by surgical providers and new surgeries. The pause was introduced as a precautionary measure, on clinical advice, following concerns identified through routine quality, safety and assurance processes. It allows an urgent independent clinical review of patients on the surgical waiting lists to take place, helping to ensure referrals for gender affirming surgery are supported by arrangements that lead to safe care of a high standard.
This remains a pause and is not a permanent change to the service. The NWJCC is committed to ensuring residents of Wales can access high-quality gender affirming services including access to appropriate surgery.
Those already progressing through a planned series of surgical procedures as part of their transition, clinically necessary follow-up care for patients who have already undergone surgery, patients requiring treatment for complications, and those who need other clinically necessary aftercare is unaffected by the pause.
This update is intended to provide transparency about the progress being made to prepare for the review. No decisions about individual patient care have been made at this stage.
Since the announcement of the pause, NWJCC has been working closely with Cardiff and Vale University Health Board (CAVUHB) and surgical providers in NHS England to establish the independent review process and put the necessary arrangements in place to support the review.
Experienced gender clinicians have been appointed to the independent clinical review panel, and the final preparations are now being completed. Once these arrangements are finalised, affected patients will be contacted directly with information about what happens next.
The review will begin with patients whose surgery was due to take place between August and December 2026. Reviews will start with those whose planned surgery dates were earliest and will continue in date order. Where it is appropriate for a patient to proceed, arrangements will be made for their surgery to resume as soon as possible. NWJCC has sought confirmation from the NHS England surgical providers that patients who are able to proceed with surgery will be prioritised.
Work with surgical providers has helped the NWJCC understand the scale of the review and supports the current aim of completing this first stage of the review by the end of December 2026. Individual patients will have their surgery reinstated, if appropriate, as soon as their review is completed, they will not need to wait to end of December for an outcome.
Patients who are waiting for surgery in 2027, and those who are waiting for a surgical assessment, will also have their referral reviewed to confirm that the requirements for surgery have been met.
The NWJCC understands that patients are experiencing a period of uncertainty whilst waiting for further information about what this review means for their care. Detailed information about the process, individual care and next steps will be shared directly with affected patients in the first instance shortly. Following patient communications, the Terms of Reference for the independent review will be published on our website.
The NWJCC will continue to work closely with Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, clinical leaders, stakeholders and service partners as the review progresses. We recognise the impact this situation has had on patients waiting for surgery and their families and are working with Cardiff and Vale to ensure appropriate support is available.
Further information, including frequently asked questions and support resources, is available on the Cardiff and Vale University Health Board website. The information will be updated as further details about the review process become available.