Norway transgender healthcare will face a new government review after Oslo announced three measures to improve services for transgender people and people with gender incongruence, following criticism over trust, waiting times and unequal access to care.
The measures were announced on Friday by the parliamentary group of the Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet). They came one day after Minister of Health and Care Services (helse- og omsorgsministeren) Jan Christian Vestre promised better healthcare for transgender people during the commemoration of the 25 June terror attack in Oslo.
Norway transgender healthcare under review
The first step will be a meeting after the summer convened by the Ministry of Health and Care Services (Helse- og omsorgsdepartementet). The ministry will bring together central health authorities and professional communities working in the field.
The government will also ask the Norwegian Directorate of Health (Helsedirektoratet) to carry out a professional review of guidelines for treatment and follow-up. The review will look at recent approaches developed in Germany, Switzerland and Austria.
As a third measure, the ministry will ask Health South-East (Helse Sør-Øst) for a written account of possible steps to increase trust among patients and relatives.
The package does not immediately change the organisation of treatment. It signals, however, that the government wants to address both the medical framework and the relationship between patients and the health services.
A system shaped by centralised expertise and regional care
Norway’s current national professional guideline states that healthcare for people with gender incongruence should be decentralised, differentiated, coordinated and comprehensive. It also says that care should be provided at the lowest effective level of treatment.
In practice, the system has long relied on specialised expertise at Oslo University Hospital, where the National Treatment Service for Gender Incongruence (Nasjonal behandlingstjeneste for kjønnsinkongruens) has played a central role. Regional services have also been developed as part of a broader effort to make care more accessible across the country.
The government’s 2023–2026 action plan for gender and sexual diversity already identifies transgender people and people with gender incongruence as a specific priority area. Its goals include equal public services, a comprehensive regional treatment offer, stronger knowledge and greater social acceptance.
That plan also points to a need for stronger Nordic cooperation. Because the patient group is relatively small and specialist environments are limited, the government has argued that cross-border professional collaboration can help strengthen knowledge and treatment quality.
Trust has become a central issue
The new measures come after repeated concerns from patient organisations and opposition politicians about the experience of transgender patients in the healthcare system.
In April, Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti) MP Marian Hussein asked the health minister what the government was doing to ensure that transgender people receive safe and equal treatment at Oslo University Hospital. In her question, she referred to claims from the Patient Organisation for Gender Incongruence (Pasientorganisasjonen for kjønnsinkongruens, PKI) that transgender patients reported poorer experiences than other patient groups.
Vestre replied at the time that Health South-East had informed the ministry that the national service receives about 700 referrals each year. According to the response, average waiting time for a first assessment was one to three months for children and young people, and six to eight months for adults.
The minister also underlined that patient experiences are important for improving healthcare services. At the same time, he noted that highly specialised services may involve stricter criteria for treatment, meaning that more patients can experience rejection than in less specialised parts of the health system.
Gender incongruence is not classified as a mental disorder
Norwegian health authorities define gender incongruence as a condition that can create a need for medical or psychological healthcare. The Directorate of Health states that gender incongruence is not a mental disorder.
Its guideline also says that psychiatric or psychological assessment is not, in itself, a condition for offering gender-affirming treatment. Healthcare must be medically sound and respect patient participation and self-determination.
For patients, care may include counselling, guidance, voice training, hormone treatment or gender-affirming surgery. Not everyone with gender incongruence needs the same type of care, and the government’s review is likely to focus on how different parts of the system assess, guide and follow patients.
