Welsh health minister calls meeting to discuss pause on gender-affirming surgery referrals

A meeting to discuss the decision to immediately pause referrals for gender-affirming surgeries in Wales has been called by the health minister.

The Welsh Gender Service paused surgery last week after concerns from an NHS committee about the number of referrals and whether they were all appropriate.

Wales' health minister, Mabon ap Gwynfor, is meeting with members of the NHS Wales Joint Commissioning Committee (NWJCC), which instructed Cardiff and Vale University Health Board to halt both new referrals and planned surgeries, on Friday.

The health board is responsible for the running of the NHS gender identity clinic which provides specialist care and support for adults in Wales.

The decision was prompted by data which indicated "significantly higher rates of referral for gender affirming surgery... compared with English gender services" in 2025-26, according to the health board.

The NWJCC has requested an independent clinical review be carried out, describing the move as "precautionary and clinically-led".

First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth previously said the review into surgery services at must be quick.

Plaid leader ap Iorwerth said while the committee at the heart of the row had taken the decision "for the right reason" on service quality grounds, he wanted a "resolution quickly".

Cardiff and Vale University Health Board confirmed on Tuesday that some patients who had been awaiting gender-affirming surgery were already in hospital for their procedures when they were told of the suspension.

Gender-affirming surgery encompasses both masculinising and feminising procedures, which often involve reshaping the genitalia. The procedures are irreversible.

The Welsh Gender Service provides referrals for patients living in Wales, but all NHS surgeries are carried out in England.

Reform UK and the Welsh Conservatives both welcomed the decision to pause surgeries.

Ap Gwynfor said that, while he respected the decision was taken on the basis of clinical evidence, he had questions for the NWJCC.

"I want to understand how long this review will take, what form will it take and to make sure that people out there know that services are there and that they can depend on the NHS in Wales to help them out in their hour of need," he said.

A letter, signed by 26 of Plaid Cymru's 28 backbench Senedd members, was sent to the chairman of the NWJCC, Ian Green, on Monday, expressing "profound disappointment" with the decision.

The letter, which emerged on Thursday, added the development had "caused distress, fear and a deep sense of uncertainty" among the trans community, "at a time when the rights and dignity of trans people across the UK are increasingly under pressure".

The group asked the NWJCC to set out what specifically had led to their cause for concern regarding the number of referrals and asked when surgeries and referrals would resume.

Reform's Welsh leader, Dan Thomas, said that "sensible-minded people in Wales" would welcome the suspension, adding there was "more to do to ensure a comprehensive review of the service".

Natasha Asghar, Welsh Conservative spokesperson for health, had earlier called for a review of the service.

She said cancelling surgeries was "absolutely the right thing to do".