Waiting Times and the Healthcare System
Waiting times at Amsterdam UMC and other centres grew to several years. Instead of using that time for careful differential diagnosis, capacity pressures led to the emergence of new providers, including private ones. This shifted the Dutch landscape precisely when greater caution was being built into systems in other countries.
How long the wait lasts
According to Radboud University, in 2022 people with questions about their gender waited an average of two years before an indication for medical care could be established. In 2026, the waiting time for an initial consultation is still measured in years. What this means for you as someone on a waiting list is explained on the page about waiting times and the care pathway and in the article about waiting years for transgender care.
The task force coordinator and new providers
In 2019, the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport and the health insurers appointed a task force coordinator to address the waiting times. The coordinator mapped how many people were waiting for an initial consultation and tried to expand provision, including by involving new providers. An overview of private and non-academic clinics can be found on genderzorgen.nl, in the article about private gender clinics. Capacity subsequently increased, but demand grew faster. According to progress reports, many people on waiting lists are registered with more than one provider, meaning that the figures overestimate the actual number. Since 2019, the same Somatic Quality Standard for Transgender Care has applied to all providers.
What the Radboud study says
The study published by Radboud University and Radboudumc in 2023 describes a mismatch between demand for transgender care and the way it is organised. Clinical psychologist Chris Verhaak said that specialist care is primarily set up for gender-affirming medical treatments, rather than for the social aspects of people’s care needs. According to the researchers, people with those needs should be able to turn to their GP and mental healthcare services, but mainstream care is not yet equipped for this. As a result, specialist care becomes overloaded. More about the growth in demand can be found in the article about the increase in referrals.
Amsterdam UMC is not calling in new adults
In January 2025, it became known that the Gender Dysphoria Knowledge and Care Centre at Amsterdam UMC would temporarily stop calling in new adults for an intake. On 7 March 2025, Minister Agema wrote to the House of Representatives that there is formally no patient stop: referrals remain possible, and children and adolescents are still being called in. She cited a shortage of psychologists as the cause. The centre is calling everyone on the waiting list to assess their care needs. More than half of the adults contacted had already received some form of care elsewhere. See the archive article about the Amsterdam UMC gender clinic.
Two interpretations of the same problem
Advocacy organisations for transgender people see the waiting list as the biggest bottleneck and fear that debate about the evidence base will lead to further restrictions on care. Critics of the treatment argue that pressure to work faster could come at the expense of diagnosis, and that some care needs would be better addressed through mental healthcare than through a medical pathway. In 2026, the Health Council concluded that care for young people is carefully organised; see the Health Council’s advice. That advice addresses whether the care is responsible, but does not solve the waiting times. Information on what the health insurer covers can be found under health insurance and gender care. Causes and proposed solutions are discussed on transbeleid.nl, in the article about waiting lists for gender care.