Author –Aimee Linfield (she/her)– Pride in Practice Manager, LGBT Foundation

Trans and non-binary people are more visible today than perhaps at any other time. Musicians like Sam Smith and Kim Petras are recording number-one singles, Yasmin Finney is the new Doctor Who companion, and Elliot Page is a role model for trans masculine people all over the world. Visibility, however, is a two-way street, and while in the past many trans and non-binary people enjoyed some level of invisibility while being out in public, poorly researched news stories (with some relying on tired, old transphobic tropes) will often make some trans and non-binary people wish they could be a little less seen now.

For staff working in primary care, trans healthcare needs are also increasingly visible. Seven years ago, when I first started training colleagues in GP practices, I’d visit many surgeries where the staff told me they’d never knowingly seen a trans patient. In 2023, this is no longer the case; many practice staff are aware of trans and non-binary folks within their local communities, and many trans and non-binary people themselves feel more comfortable being open about their identities while visiting their GP practices.

Because of this, we’ve also seen more practices contacting us at Pride in Practice with training requests and questions about how best to support their trans and non-binary patients. Pride in Practice was established to support outcomes in healthcare for LGBTQ+ people and this is something we feel passionate about continuing to do.

Part of this commitment has involved working with partners to produce the Gender Identity Toolkit. This vital resource is the product of a collaboration between the IGPM, Practice Index, Pride in Practice, and the Indigo Gender Service, and brings together as much relevant information as possible to enable GP practices to support their trans and non-binary patients.

The Gender Identity Toolkit, now updated, covers a range of important topics central to trans and non-binary patient support within general practice, including a definition of key terms, information on treatment pathways, and administrative information to enable appropriate support within a practice context. We think it’s an incredibly useful resource and hope you’ll think so too!

Today we’re hosting a session with Practice Index, to discuss the importance of TDOV, what resources are available to help you support your trans and non-binary patients, and a general Q&A. Book your free place here.

Click the link to access the Gender Identity Toolkit. If you’d like to find out more about Pride in Practice, you can visit our page on the LGBT Foundation website, or email us at [email protected].