Trans men are threatening legal action after NHS delays left them with ‘half-built’ penises

Transgender patients are threatening legal action against the NHS after delays left them with ‘half-built’ penises.

Some are left ‘in limbo’ between operations – leaving ‘indeterminate genitals’ – while others are still waiting to undergo their first operation.

Patients say this has caused physical and psychological problems and affected their work and personal lives.

Problems with the treatment arose after NHS England commissioned St Peter’s Andrology Center – a private clinic in London – to perform surgery, but did not renew the contract when it expired at the end of March 2020.

It was only in September 2021 that a new provider – New Victoria Hospital in London – was appointed.

Legal firm Leigh Day has now written to NHS England and St Peter’s, claiming their failures have led to the collapse of commissioning arrangements and contributed to delays.

Transgender patients threaten legal action against NHS after delays left them with ‘half-built’ penises (File image)

One patient, Matthew [not his real name]said: ‘I have been living with an incomplete penile reconstruction for three years now. This continues to have a huge negative impact on my mental health’ (File image)

It says there are thousands of people on the waiting list for masculinizing surgery. Many of them agreed to the first phase of their surgeries before 2020 without knowing about the long waiting times and are still waiting to complete their treatment.

Others have yet to receive a referral to see a surgical consultant, or have been referred but have not been added to the waiting list. The law firm is representing 16 people over the treatment delays. One patient, Matthew [not his real name]said: ‘I have been living with an incomplete penile reconstruction for three years now. This continues to have a huge negative impact on my mental health.

‘My confidence is gone. I haven’t been able to socialize like I used to, travel or find a new job. I find it difficult to trust people now.

‘I have been extremely affected by stress, which has resulted in other health problems such as anxiety, depression, insomnia, hair loss and thoughts of suicide.’

The surgeries – including metoidioplasty (hysterectomy and genital reconstruction) and phalloplasty (creating a penis from existing genital tissue or skin grafts) – are available to trans men who were born female. These are complex procedures that often require three phases of surgery.

St. Peter’s website stated that there is normally a minimum wait of three months between surgeries and patients were told to wait six to 12 months between procedures, Leigh Day said. Patients are now facing delays of up to three to four years, the law firm says.

Patients could be entitled to compensation worth tens of thousands of pounds each, says Leigh Day (File image)

They have now also been told that New Victoria Hospital will perform the second stage of metoidioplasty surgery in two procedures instead of one. They are therefore confronted with a new procedure that they had not previously expected or agreed to.

The hospital is also reportedly not accepting new surgical referrals.

Patients could be entitled to compensation worth tens of thousands of pounds each, says Leigh Day.

The company wants to “hold those responsible to account and prevent such mistakes from being repeated.”

Lawyer Kate Egerton said: ‘Having to sit between operations or before the procedures begin has caused intense physical and emotional distress for our clients who are dealing with increasing gender dysphoria – the very thing the operations were designed to alleviate.

“The defendants were negligent in conducting the operations and violated the human rights of our clients.”

Chay Brown, from campaign group TransActual, said: “Those on the list have been left in the dark for far too long. Not only are their mental and physical health affected, but also their careers, life plans and personal relationships.”

A spokesperson for NHS England said: ‘This is an ongoing potential legal matter and we are therefore unable to comment at this time.’