4/10/23 This page is new and under construction. If you’d like to help us build content please contact Marie, our Practice Manager. Our expertise in what you’d like to see on this page is limited and we value your support to ensure we offer the best information and the information you want to see here.
We are happy to listen but just so you know, we can only add accredited/validated UK content. This way you’ll know that what you read here is correct and appropriate.
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Thank you for your help, to help us, support you better. Below is some ‘starter’ information.
Changing name and gender on the patient record
GPs may be asked by patients with gender incongruence to change their name and gender on the practice medical record, and patients have this right to change their personal details direct with the practice. Patients also have the right to change the name and gender on their official NHS registration documents without obtaining a Gender Recognition Certificate. PCSE (Primary Care Support England) guidance sets out in more detail all the steps involved in changing the patient’s name and gender on the patient record: –
If a patient wishes to have their gender changed on the system, then this would require obtaining a brand-new NHS number and identity. It is essential that you confirm with your patient that this is the route that they want to go down and should be made aware of the consequences such as they cannot revert to their previous identity.
If the patient does wish to do this, then we would deduct the patient under their current details from your Practice to allocate a new NHS number. Once we have this information, you will need to send a new registration with the patient’s new details and NHS number with no reference to their previous identity.
If the patient does not wish to go down this route, then alternatively we can amend the title to MX as this is a none gender specific title, and the gender will remain the same as to what they were assigned at birth.
Preventative healthcare and screening.
Patients may require access to disease prevention and organ specific screening programmes (such as cervical smears, breast screening or prostate examinations) which are habitually offered only to specific genders, and which may not align with the patient’s own gender identity. Doctors should work with these patients to ensure that they understand any screening procedures they should continue to have. This may also include providing access to information on how patients may opt out of gender-specific screening calls. Further information and guidance on NHS population screening for trans and non-binary people can be found in the links at the bottom of this page.
Screening for trans people at a glance
Trans women and non-binary people assigned male at birth who are registered with a GP as female:
- are invited for breast screening
- are invited for bowel cancer screening
- do not need cervical screening as they do not have a cervix
- are not routinely invited for abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) screening but can request screening
Trans women and non-binary people assigned male at birth who are registered with a GP as male:
- are not routinely invited for breast screening but can request screening
- are invited for bowel cancer screening
- do not need cervical screening as they do not have a cervix
- are invited for AAA screening
Trans men and non-binary people assigned female at birth who are registered with a GP as female:
- are invited for breast screening
- are invited for bowel cancer screening
- are invited for cervical screening
- are not invited for AAA screening
Trans men and non-binary people assigned female at birth who are registered with a GP as male:
- are not routinely invited for breast screening but can request screening
- are invited for bowel cancer screening
- are not routinely invited for cervical screening but can request screening
- are invited for AAA screening but do not have a high risk of AAA
Trans men who are pregnant should be offered the same antenatal and newborn screening tests as all other pregnant individuals.
Links to resources
How to find an NHS gender dysphoria clinic
NHS population screening: information for trans and non-binary people
