Alice Litman: Transgender woman not offered care, mum tells inquest

Alice Litman had waited nearly three years to discuss transitioning

A transgender woman who took her own life had not been offered the care which could have saved her, her mother has told her inquest.

Alice Litman, from Brighton, waited almost three years for gender-affirming healthcare, the inquest in Hove heard.

Alice was 16 when she told her family she wanted to live as a woman.

She was referred to the NHS Gender Identity Development Service in 2019, but was still waiting for an initial assessment when she died in 2022.

The hearing at Sussex County Cricket Ground in Hove was told Alice had been waiting for her appointment with the service for 1,023 days.

Alice died on 26 May 2022, aged 20.

Peter and Caroline Litman say they hope lessons will be learned from Alice's death

In a written statement to the inquest, Alice's mother, Dr Caroline Litman, who was an NHS psychiatrist for 12 years, said: "I believe my daughter could have lived a happy healthy life had she not been failed by the healthcare system that should have supported her."

She said during an initial meeting with a GP in early 2018, where Alice had a low mood and anxiety, but had not yet come out as trans, the doctor told Alice to play more football.

"No other treatment was offered," she said.

"In my view, (Alice) felt she was not being taken seriously, and doctors did not understand her."

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Alice was referred to CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services) in 2019, following a suicide attempt. Despite a further suicide attempt later that year, Dr Litman said mental health services had not taken her daughter as seriously as they should have done.

In March 2020, after Alice had turned 18, Dr Litman said she was discharged from mental health services altogether. "Nothing had changed except Alice was turning 18, and yet all mental health support was withdrawn", Dr Litman wrote.

Dr Litman told the court that ultimately, long waits for gender affirming care from both NHS and private sources had led to Alice feeling helpless - and earlier support could have prevented her death.

She spoke of her "shame" that even as a former NHS employee, she was unable to "get my daughter past the gatekeepers" for mental health care and gender identity services.

Dr Litman recalled to the inquest her memories of young Alice, saying she "smiled all the time" and "delighted in the world."

She also said her daughter's friends had described her as "bold and brave", "soft, warm and kind", with a "habit of tickling people's brains."

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