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Clinical Review of Gender Surgery (2026)

Is this devolved to Wales?

Where is this happening?

What's happening?

Why is this happening?

Who has been affected?

What's happening?

Why is this happening?

Who has been affected?

Charts (if needed)

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£ 00 million Total

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Explanation
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Who has raised this at the Senedd?

Mabon ap Gwynfor MS

Health & Care Minister

Rhun ap Iorwerth MS

First Minister

Sarah Rees MS

Backbencher

Matthew Jones MS

Backbencher

Cristiana Emsley MS

Shadow Communities Minister

Joe Martin MS

Shadow Minister without Portfolio

Natasha Asghar MS

Backbencher

Anthony Slaughter MS

Backbencher

Mabon ap Gwynfor MS

Health & Care Minister

Rhun ap Iorwerth MS

First Minister

Sarah Rees MS

Backbencher

Matthew Jones MS

Backbencher

Cristiana Emsley MS

Shadow Communities Minister

Joe Martin MS

Shadow Minister without Portfolio

Natasha Asghar MS

Backbencher

Anthony Slaughter MS

Backbencher

What are the party positions on this?

Plaid Cymru backbenchers have criticised the pause, believing it will cause unnecessary harm to patients.

The parameters of the assessment were to ensure that no clinical harm came to patients, yet patients subjected to this review have already faced what the NWJCC have accepted is a significant level of psychiatric harm.....So, I must ask the Minister: are you assured that the evidence gathered by the NWJCC warrants this completely unprecedented pause? And will the Welsh Government individually review how a decision of this magnitude can be made without warning to Government, the Welsh Gender Service, or to patients?

If they've reviewed all the patients and are satisfied, or aren't satisfied, what next? At what point will the pause stop? Is it 10 patients, or 60? Is it for patients registered for surgery in 2027? Many people have put their lives on hold, including taking months off work to recover after surgery. Their health, livelihoods and finances are all now in limbo. We must reassure a community already experiencing fear and anxiety, made worse because the NWJCC has not publicly or adequately explained their concerns.

The reaction of Reform MSs has ranged from support for the review, to backing the criminalisation of gender-affirming surgery.

The Welsh Gender Service has been subject to an independent clinical review because NHS Wales commissioners identified concerns about the appropriateness of referrals and the robustness of clinical governance and patient safeguards, yet 26 of your own (Plaid Cymru) backbenchers have publicly objected to the clinically led pause.

The Welsh Gender Service should be closed forever and the doctors in the UK who performed surgeries on children should be imprisoned for what they've done. And if Reform form a government in Westminster in 2029, I'll be making representations to our colleagues there that justice be served to the liars and the butchers responsible for what's happened to what's left of the young people who have had surgery performed.

Labour MSs haven’t said anything on this yet.

Test Test Test

The Conservatives support the clinical review based on the grounds cited by the Joint Commissioning Committee.

There is nothing unacceptable about pausing irreversible surgery at the Welsh Gender Service while serious concerns are investigated. Clearly, the NHS believes there is a case to answer for here over the abnormally high rates of people being referred for irreversible gender surgeries, hence why this action was taken. Patient safety and well-being should always be the No. 1 priority, and pausing treatment in light of this review is absolutely the right thing to do.

The Greens have criticised the pause and believe the Welsh Government needs to stand up for the trans community.

Gender-affirming surgery has been available on the NHS since the 1960s, with thousands of surgeries performed each year. This is not experimental treatment and this should not be considered a controversial area of medicine. It is a well-established and highly studied area of medicine that the NHS has a legal and statutory duty to provide. The decision to pause these surgeries was ill-thought-out and callous. But it also demonstrates a failure of governance within NHS Wales Joint Commissioning Committee and sadly, a breakdown in communication with the Welsh Government.

For patients to be told, just hours away from surgery, vulnerable but prepared, that their operation would not be going ahead, with no explanation, no indication of a rescheduled date and with no communication in the days following demonstrates a failure of the duty of care that patients are entitled to during one of the most significant events of their lives—a decision made seemingly without evidence of imminent or direct risk to patients and with no clear safety justification.

Jane Dodds hasn’t said anything on this specifically.

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Who is responsible?

Mabon ap Gwynfor MS

Health & Care Minister

What have ministers said?

The decision to pause gender-affirming surgery was made through established clinical governance processes. These apply to all services commissioned by the NHS Wales Joint Commissioning Committee. It isn't unusual for the JCC to place services in escalation when there is a need to seek assurance on clinical or quality issues. These processes exist to ensure patient safety, and we need to be led by them, based on their independent clinical assessment of the evidence.

The Joint Commissioning Committee (JCC) has already appointed the independent clinical review panel, and, subject to final governance approval, it is anticipated that the review will commence imminently. This review will prioritise those individuals who are further along the pathway to allow appropriate referrals to proceed as soon as possible.

The JCC has identified that approximately 60 patients were due surgery between the pausing of surgery in August and the end of December. Our priority is to bring certainty to these people as quickly as possible, and the JCC are confident that all 60 of these cases can be reviewed before the end of December.

Let's remember who is at the heart of issues like this—people who are feeling that they are paying the price for the failure of a health system. What we need to make sure is that we have a review to understand exactly what has happened based on clinical evidence. That's what everybody wants to see happening, whilst supporting the trans community in the process.

What's being done about this?

What do the Welsh Government want to do?

Does this need a new law or regulations?

How long will this take?

What do the Welsh Government want to do?

Does this need a new law or regulations?

How long will this take?

What have the Senedd's Committees said?

Nothing has been discussed yet.

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