England's National Health Service has drafted new guidelines for treating transgender youth that would call for local authorities to be alerted in some cases where young people have obtained puberty blockers and hormone therapies on the private market, according to a copy of the guidelines reviewed by Reuters.
The guidelines are part of a wide-ranging review of treatment for young transgender people seeking NHS care. The current approach, which can include medical interventions, has been criticised by some practitioners who said it rushed people onto medication, and by families who complained the service could not manage fast-growing demand.
Asked about the draft by Reuters, the NHS declined to comment on its contents. The service has said previously it would soon share its preliminary guidelines with the public to allow for feedback and revision. It says the changes are necessary to provide timely care for young people who seek medical help, while ensuring that the system is robust and treatments safe.
The draft prepared by NHS England seen by Reuters stressed that "there is now an urgent need" to finalise the guidelines and help set up new services for transgender youth "as quickly as possible." It was briefly uploaded to the NHS England website at the end of September, with plans for a 45-day public comment period, but later removed. An NHS spokesperson declined to say why, or when a finalised and fuller version will be made public.
In England, a years-long wait for gender care has led some young people to seek medications through unregulated online pharmacies, or privately. These include therapies that block the onset of puberty or hormone treatments for older people, which are used to help transgender adolescents develop secondary sexual characteristics aligned with their gender identity. GenderGP, a private provider of treatments for transgender patients, told Reuters it has prescribed such medications to hundreds of youth.
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