Posted by Jean Smith on behalf of Labour Trans Equality
05.3.21
First some background. NHS England Commissions GIDS (The Gender Identity Development Service) at the Tavistock & Portman NHS Foundation Trust. GIDS accepts referrals of young people with the features of gender dysphoria up to the age of 18 in England and Wales. The service at Tavistock & Portman in London has a regional centre in Leeds and satellite clinics in Exeter, Bristol and Birmingham.
As a result of representations, to the Care Quality Commission (CQC) including by the Children’s Commissioner, the CQC undertook a focused inspection of GIDS in October and November 2020. This resulted in a rating of Inadequate for the service..
The CQC report presents a sobering picture of a service under considerable pressure. It finds that at the time of the Inspection the service was working with 2093 young people with a further 4677 young people on the waiting list resulting in a waiting time of at least 2 years for access to the service.
While these figures would be cause for concern for any NHS service it is what lies behind them in terms of safeguarding and the risk to these young people which is most important and worrying. It is worth quoting directly from the CQC report….
“Many of the young people waiting for or receiving a service were vulnerable and at risk of self-harm. The size of the waiting list meant that staff were unable to proactively manage the risks to patients waiting for a first appointment”.
This is currently the reality for thousands of young people and the background to the current debate about the desirability of providing access to “hormone blockers” to young people below the age of 16 and cross sex hormones for young people from the age of 16. A debate heightened by divergent views about the legitimacy and safety of such therapies which has crystallised leading up to the recent Bell v Tavistock Court Case and its outcome now subject to Appeal. The case hinged on the role of parental consent in the treatment of trans children and young people Its impact has been significant for access to treatment and will remain so pending a conclusive outcome to the Appeal. (See commentary on the case by Robin Moira White & Nicola Newbigin of Old Square Chambers)
This debate about treatment at GIDS frankly rather misses the point. In reality the number of young people currently being prescribed “hormone blockers” and cross sex hormones at GIDS is less than a hundred. The NHS England treatment protocol for prescription of hormone blockers and cross sex hormones is very strict and following the outcome of the court case has become more so. Meanwhile as the CQC report makes crystal clear thousands of young people are at varying degrees of risk because they are unable to access the diagnostic and clinical support which they desperately need from GIDS because of the size of the waiting list and the capacity of GIDS to assist them.
It follows surely that if we are truly concerned about the care and wellbeing of a significant cohort of young people many of whom are at risk this is what we must be focusing on.
So what is to be done ? Simply we must focus on the reality rather than be influenced by myth and misinformation about the use of these treatments. Fortunately two key initiatives are now underway. Prior to the CQC Inspection NHS EI had already commissioned Professor Hilary Cass formerly President of the Royal College of Paediatric and Child Health to conduct a review. (The terms of Reference can be viewed on the NHSEI web site)
Also and in response to the CQC’s findings, NHS EI is currently preparing proposals for establishing local support structures for young people seeking access to GIDS details of which will be revealed shortly. Implementation of these proposals will require support and engagement from people working with young people locally and especially in primary care.
Meanwhile SHA members can play an important role in ensuring that the discussion about the care and support of these young people focuses on the realities facing thousands of them, their families and their carers and what must be done. When NHS EI comes forward with its proposals for addressing this problem we must hope and expect that it will receive a positive response from primary care and local mental health services.
References
CQC Report
Tavistock & Portman NHS Foundation Trust Gender Identity Service Inspection Report 20.01.21
The Cass Review
“Review of GID Services for Children & Adolescents”
Click to access GIDS_independent_review_ToR.pdf
Legal Commentary
“What about Parental Consent in the Treatment of Trans Children and Young People”
Nicola Newbigin & Tobin Moira White
Click to access What-about-parental-consent-1.pdf
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