Your appointments

We know that coming to an appointment can feel quite daunting and we know you have waited a long time for it! Knowing what to expect can really help you feel more confident and will help make your first appointment feel a little easier.

If you want to know more about visiting the Nottingham clinic, take a look at our walkthrough video

 

What happens at your first appointment?

Your first appointment is a conversation between yourself and the clinician, who may be either a psychiatrist, psychologist or a nurse. You will normally be asked a few questions to establish a bit of background about you and your gender as well as some discussions about what you are looking for from the NHS. Don’t worry if you do not have an answer for some of the questions, this is not a test, just a chance to chat and discuss your treatment.

You will at no point be asked to undergo a physical examination. The appointment is simply to discuss your gender in the past, how you identify now and what treatments you may require. 

For most appointments you will have the choice of attending on-line or in-person. However, on occasions there may be a clinical need for you to attend in person.

 

Your second appointment

Your second appointment may feel very different to the first. This is where you and the clinician get into the details of what you require from us and how you would like your journey to look like going forwards. Second assessments are conducted by a lead clinician and will include further assessment questions and they will likely go into more detail on some topics. There will also be plenty of opportunity for you to ask questions. At the end of the assessment, next steps will be explained and some people will receive a diagnosis of Gender Incongruence HA60 (ICD11) and entering the treatment programme will be discussed, some may be invited to further assessments and others may be discharged.

You can view our treatments offered page during the waiting time between your first and second appointment and take time to reflect upon the first appointment.

The distance between your first and second appointment can be found on our Waiting List Update page.

 

Before my appointment

You will receive your opt-in letter offering you an appointment, which you will have to respond to. While you are waiting for the admin team to book you an appointment, there are few things you can consider doing:

• If you are intending to do a deed poll, it may be a good time to get the ball rolling. Find out more about deed polls and changing your details here. 
• If you are attending the appointment online, make sure you have a device which you can use to attend your appointment.
• Ensure you have booked some time off work for the appointment if you need and make sure you arrange a quiet private room where you can have your appointment if possible.
• The video consultation system the clinic uses is not compatible with Internet Explorer or FireFox so make sure you have Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge downloaded onto the device you will be using.

If you are coming into the centre, make sure you have checked your travel plans and know where the centre is. The building has many steps both to enter and a few more when you are inside. If this is likely to be an issue, let the staff know ahead of time by giving the team a call on 0115 876 0160.

There is an accessible entrance around the back of the building and there is a fully accessible waiting room, toilets and consulting room available too. 

Information about finding our building can be found here.

 

Online appointment 

We now use Microsoft Teams for our online meetings. While a lot of people will have experience of using Teams, we are aware some of you may have never encountered it before. You can normally open the meeting in a browser by simply clicking the link. However, it may be a good idea to download the app in advance of the meeting. Details on how to join a Teams meeting can be found here.

Before you join the meeting, make sure you are:

1. In a private place
2. In the UK (we will terminate the meeting if you are not currently in the UK as we are only allowed to treat people within this country. This applies even if you are only on holiday)
3. Ensure you have a strong and stable connection. 

 

Real-life appointment

Ideally, turn up for your appointment at least ten minutes early. You will need to press the intercom to say you are here and the receptionist will buzz you in. If you can then sign in at reception and make your way to the waiting room.

The waiting room has a kitchen available if you want to make yourself a tea or coffee or grab some water. We also have a television with up-to-date information about the Network on it, a radio (which you may turn off if you are noise sensitive) as well as charging points for your phone. There are also plenty of leaflets and local information sheets for you to read while you wait.

When you leave, make sure you sign out at reception. You can then push the green button to the right of the door to let yourself out. If you have used the accessible entrance, a member of staff will show you out. 

 

After your appointment

The admin team will contact you when it is time for your next appointment. The time between the first and second appointment will vary for several reasons. You can check our waiting list update page on this website to see what the current waiting times are between the first and second appointments.