Leia Sampson-Grimbly
Age 1711 Nov 2024
Suffolk (United Kingdom)
Suicide
Leia died by suicide while awaiting a first appointment at an NHS Gender Identity Clinic. A coroner ruled that her life could have been saved if waiting times were shorter.
[Editor's Note: The date of Leia's death was not reported but is thought to have been in late August 2024. The date given here is the date of the start of the coroner's investigation into her death, 11th November 2024]
A 17-year-old girl who took her own life waiting to be seen by an NHS gender clinic could have been saved if wait times were shorter, a coroner has ruled.
Leia Sampson-Grimbly, a 17-year-old trans girl, died by suicide in 2024 following a struggle with her mental health while waiting to be seen by the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust.
Senior coroner, Andrew Walker, said her death was preventable and that the Camden-based gender clinic’s wait times were “far too long. Having to battle with changes to her body without receiving the necessary preventative treatment, together with the many hurdles and setbacks, gradually eroded her belief that she would succeed and everything would be alright,” he said.
Described as “complex, kind, intelligent, and determined,” Leia’s mental health reportedly deteriorated following the Tavistock’s closure in 2024 under recommendations from the controversial Cass Report on trans youth healthcare provision.
The clinic, which was the only NHS centre providing trans youth care, has been gradually replaced by regional hubs across England and Wales.
Mr Walker urged NHS gender clinics to do more to bring down the waiting lists to help prevent mental health risks among those waiting for care.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the trans campaign group TransLuscent said Leia’s death was a “direct consequence of a healthcare system designed to delay, obstruct, and ultimately deny necessary medical treatment to vulnerable trans youth.”
It comes just days after an eye-opening report revealed that many patients are likely to wait a third of their lifetime for a first appointment at an NHS gender clinic in the UK, with some waiting as long as 224 years. Data obtained by QueerAF, in association with What the Trans?! and Claire’s Trans Talks, revealed that, as of March 2025, 48,000 people were waiting for a first appointment at one of the UK’s 15 gender clinics. For every person seen in 2024, four more people joined the list.
Wait times for each clinic vary massively, from just three months in Nottingham, to 41 years in Belfast, and a staggering 224 years in Glasgow.
Data from 2024 suggests that trans adults are six times more likely to have attempted suicide compared to cisgender people, with many citing restrictions in accessing gender-affirming care as a major contributor to their poor mental health.
Leia Sampson-Grimbly – Prevention of future deaths report – 2025-0482_Published
My heart grieves for Leia Dorothy Pandora Sampson-Grimbly. "Leia was 17 years old at the time she died a beautiful person inside and out, complex, kind, fair, intelligent, determined, dedicated and talented with a great future ahead of her and greatly loved by all who knew her". Remember her.
— TransHealthNow (@dadtrans.bsky.social) October 8, 2025 at 7:37 PM
Leia's LinkedIn profile is https://www.linkedin.com/in/leia-sampson-grimbly-8012222ba/.
https://www.attitude.co.uk/news/nhs-adult-gender-dysphoria-services-review-trans-suicide-499716/
https://www.thepinknews.com/2025/10/09/nhs-wait-times-trans-girl-suicide/
https://www.hamhigh.co.uk/news/25528275.girl-17-took-life-waiting-gender-dysphoria-treatment/
https://avmag.gr/pos-oi-chronoi-anamonis-sto-nhs-schetizontai-me-tin-aftoktonia-trans-efivis/
https://walberswick.onesuffolk.net/home/the-church/services/funerals-and-memorials
https://walberswick.onesuffolk.net/assets/Village-News/VN25-01-jan.pdf
https://bsky.app/profile/dadtrans.bsky.social/post/3m2pbxea7vs2p
