Family of woman who died awaiting gender-affirming care will ‘continue fight’
The family of a trans woman who died while waiting almost three years for gender-affirming care have said they will “continue to fight” for her and young trans people.
Alice Litman, 20, was described as “bold and brave” and “warm and kind” by her friends and family during an inquest into her death.
Ms Litman was found dead on May 26, 2022, at Undercliff Walk in Roedean, Brighton.
Giving a narrative conclusion on Friday, coroner Sarah Clarke said: “At the time of her death, Alice had been on the waiting list for Gender Identity Services for 1,023 days, which contributed to a decline in her mental health.”
Ms Litman’s family, who were supported by the Good Law Project during the inquest, said afterwards that she was left to “languish” on the waiting list.
Her mother, Caroline Litman, said: “We believe that if Alice was able to access gender-affirming care when she first went to her GP in 2018, she could still be with us today.”
Dr Litman added: “We can never bring Alice back but we will keep campaigning to ensure all trans people are able to live in dignity and receive the healthcare they need and deserve.
“The trans healthcare system is not fit for purpose.
"At the inquest we heard that if the Gender Identity Clinic continues to see new patients at its current rate, someone referred today would have to wait 20 years before receiving their first appointment.”
Caroline Litman says her family will keep campaigning
The inquest conclusion comes after three days of hearings in September, when Ms Clarke said the inquest had shown how services involved in Ms Litman’s care are all “underfunded and insufficiently resourced”.
In Ms Clarke’s summary of findings on Friday, she said Ms Litman’s comments of helplessness and hopelessness to her GP were for “good reason”.
Ms Clarke said: “She was doing her utmost to navigate her way through life, but constantly taking one step forward and two back in her pursuit of gender-affirming healthcare.”
The coroner will be raising a report to prevent future deaths which will be sent to health bodies including NHS England, the Royal College of General Practitioners, Surrey and Borders Partnership Trust and the Gender Identity Clinic.
Previously, the inquest heard transgender people are being let down by “extraordinarily long” NHS waiting lists, which are causing a “travesty” of self-harm and suicide.
It heard Ms Litman, originally from Surrey, first told her sister she felt she was a woman in September 2018 and went to see a doctor about her gender identity later that year.
It also heard that in 2019 Ms Litman attempted to take her own life on two occasions.
During the inquest evidence was heard from The Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust, which ran gender identity services Ms Litman was referred to, Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, which ran child and adolescent mental health services, WellBN, Ms Litman’s GP at the time of her death, and online transgender clinic GenderGP.
It also heard Ms Litman had been receiving hormone treatment privately at the time of her death.
The Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust and WellBN told the inquest there was no denial of lifesaving emergency treatment for Ms Litman but accepted there was a delay.
Speaking after the inquest conclusion, Ms Litman’s sister Kate Litman said the family want to campaign for GPs to be given the resources to provide potentially life-saving gender-affirming care.
She said: “We know it’s possible for trans people to live happy, full, glorious lives and we want to achieve these changes so that no trans people are denied that possibility.”
Graham Wareham, Chief Executive at Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We are deeply saddened by the tragic death of Alice Litman and I have written to her family to express my heartfelt thoughts and condolences.
"Our Chief Nursing Officer has also offered the family a meeting to discuss in detail the matters that have been raised by the investigation into Alice’s death.
"We will reflect carefully on the findings in the Coroner’s Prevention of Future of Deaths Report and address the areas of concern that have been identified. I recognise that there is much for us to learn about and then improve around transitions and care for people who are transgender."
Professor Kamila Hawthorne, Chair of the Royal College of GPs, said: “Our condolences go to the Alice’s parents and the Litman family on their devastating loss.
"We have spoken to them at length. GPs are committed to giving the best possible care to their trans patients but many of the coroner’s calls fall outside the remit of the RCGP and general practice, so we will be discussing this further with the General Medical Council and NHS England."
An NHS spokesperson said: “The NHS is working hard to reduce waiting lists across both adult and children’s gender services, which has increased due to rapidly rising demand and a shortage of specialist clinical staff.
“We have more than doubled investment in adult gender dysphoria services in recent years, while rolling out five new adult clinics since July 2020 including establishing a new adult service in Sussex last month which is now taking adult patients from the Tavistock gender service waiting list.
“NHS England have also recently commissioned a suite of training modules for healthcare providers, educators and parents to help them support children and young people with gender-related questions or distress.”
The Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust has been approached for comment.
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