The Gender Pathway CIC aims to raise £100,000 to fund up to two years of care for trans+ people who would not otherwise be able to afford private options
A new donor-funded scheme, the Gender Pathway, launches today with a £100,000 target for its first funding round. The money will subsidise up to two years of private healthcare for trans+ people on low incomes, funding more than 40 people in round one.
The fund launches as around 42,000 people in England and Wales wait for a first appointment at an NHS gender identity clinic, with average waits of around five years and some people waiting as long as ten.
Donations are pooled until a round's target is reached. Applications then open, funding is means-tested and successful applicants are paired with a regulated independent provider that delivers care at a reduced rate.
The fund was founded by Suzanne Coleclough, a former barrister, together with trans+ advocate Jace Bulger, a senior support worker at a not-for-profit disability organisation.
Coleclough explained: “We’re committed to building a fund that is compassionate, responsible and transparent. Our hope is that we will be able to support people who, without funding, would simply have no option but to wait the many, many years it can take to access care via the NHS.”
The fund's first partner is Gender Plus, which provides holistic healthcare, supporting trans and gender non-conforming people through the psychosocial arm of the service, and clinical care via the CQC Outstanding rated Gender Plus Hormone Clinic. It is also the only clinic of its kind providing gender-affirming care to 16 and 17 year olds, as well as adults. The fund is actively working to add further providers, so applicants have a choice of where to receive care.
Jace Bulger, co-founder of the Gender Pathway, added: “We know the options for timely care in the UK are limited, especially when cost is a barrier. But we also know there are many generous people who want to help. The Gender Pathway connects the two.”
Donations to the first round can be made at www.genderpathway.org.uk. Applications will open once the £100,000 target is reached.
How the Gender Pathway works:
Gender Pathway sets a target for each funding round.
Members of the public donate.
Once the target is reached, applications open.
People seeking care apply, and applications are means-tested.
Successful applicants are paired with a partner provider.
The provider delivers up to two years of care, after which time care transfers over to the recipient's GP.
The next funding round opens.
The fund accepts donations for future rounds throughout.
