Cheshire and Merseyside Area Gender Identity Collaborative (CMAGIC) – a new NHS adult gender incongruence service

The new service, which plans to open in early 2021, will be delivered by Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust in Partnership with CMAGIC which is a multifaceted collaboration of representatives from neighbouring Clinical Commissioning Groups, providers, GPs, clinicians and patient representatives. CMAGIC partners have been working together for many years to develop a unique holistic service to provide additional patient support.

The service will offer flexible, tailored support options, assessment for and diagnosis of gender incongruence, hormone therapy (including prescriptions and monitoring), referrals to voice therapy, as well as referrals to surgical providers. The service will work to NHS England’s service specification gender identity services for adults (non-surgical services.

Initially CMAGIC will focus on supporting people who are on a waiting list for a gender incongruence clinic appointment, are already registered with a GP in the Cheshire and Merseyside area and meet the criteria and eligible for NHS treatment.

The development of the pilot follows a national commitment to improving access and user experience of adult gender services (for individuals over 17 years of age) and make care available more locally.

The vision for this new service is based on local engagement with trans and non-binary communities across Cheshire and Merseyside, which has evolved over many years. A common theme heard was around the need for a more inclusive service, streamlined referral processes and multi professional and multi-sector staffing.

CMAGIC aims to provide a timely and holistic support for transgender patients and their families to improve their experience and health outcomes to provide good access to the right local services at the right time.

CMAGIC will be staffed by an experienced primary care team from the Cheshire and Merseyside healthcare system.

During the two-year pilot, the service will be independently evaluated to ensure continual improvement with the ultimate aim to deliver an inclusive integrated approach achieving high quality services as close to home as possible with good experience and outcomes.

To keep updated on the new service, please sign up to become a stakeholder of the Gender Incongruence Clinical Reference Group here:

https://www.engage.england.nhs.uk/application/crg-stakeholder-reg-april-2019/

For more information about the service, visit the new webpage:

https://www.merseycare.nhs.uk/our-services/physical-health-services/cmagic-cheshire-and-merseyside-adult-gender-identity-collaborative/