In light of last week’s Cass review, Scotland’s gender clinic that treats gender-questioning younger people has paused prescribing puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones.
The Sandyford office, based in Glasgow, which offers a range of services including emergency contraception, pregnancy help, support for sexual assault victims, as well as transgender care, posted a service update on Thursday morning.
According to the statement, new patients referred to the Sandyford sexual health services for the prescription of puberty-stimulating hormones have been halted from the young person’s identity service.
“Patients aged 16 to 17 years old who have not undergone geriatric physiology treatment, but who are seeking care for their gender incongruence, will no longer be prescribed gender-affirming hormone therapy until they are 18 years old.”
A landmark review conducted by the pediatrician Dr. Hilary Cass and commissioned by NHS England last week found “weak evidence” for the use of cross-sex hormones and puberty blockers to treat young people experiencing gender incongruence. It also claimed that this vulnerable cohort had been “let down” by the “toxicity” of the debate surrounding their care.
The action comes after weeks of clinic criticism for not taking immediate action after the March 1st effective ban on puberty blockers was put in place by NHS England.
However, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde revealed on Thursday that it had already stopped accepting new patients for the treatments since mid-March in response to the NHS England decision and while the Cass review was undergoing publication.
Earlier this week, the first minister, Humza Yousaf, said Scottish health boards would give the “utmost consideration” to Cass’s 388-page report. He added: “When it comes to the prescribing of medicine, clinicians are best placed – not politicians, government ministers or myself as first minister.”
The Guardian understands that Sandyford does not adhere to a strict affirmative model of care for young people, a practice Cass called into question, despite criticisms that have been made of the facility as “the tartan Tavistock.”
According to FoI data, between 2016 and 2023, 71 under-18s received prescriptions for puberty blockers after referrals from the clinic.
Sandyford emphasized that this pause does not affect patients who were already taking hormone suppressants or gender-affirming medications.
The clinic stated: “We are committed to providing the best possible clinical care for young people accessing and understanding the distress that gender incongruence can cause. While this pause is in place, we will continue to provide the psychological support that anyone who is referred to the young people’s gender service needs while we review the pathways in accordance with the findings.”
The next step is to work with the Scottish government and academic partners to produce evidence that will enable us to provide safe care for our patients, said Dr. Emilia Crighton, director of public health for NHS GGC.
“We concur with Dr. Hilary Cass’ assertion that toxic behavior in public debate is having an impact on the lives of young people who seek our service and does not benefit the teams who work hard to care and support them.”
The decision, according to Vic Valentine, the manager of Scottish Trans, would leave them feeling relieved that they would have to wait even more for the care they needed.
The statement continued,” This decision was made in the context of the debate that dominates the perceptions and lives of trans people almost daily in some political circles and the media. We worry that the decision was made in that context rather than solely by taking into account the best interests of trans children and young people.”
