An NHS trust has been allowed to appeal against a high court decision that barred it from referring under-16s for puberty-blocking treatment.

The court ruled that children considering gender reassignment were unlikely to be able to give informed consent. Now the Tavistock and Portman NHS trust, which runs the UKs main gender identity development service for children, has been granted permission to appeal, alongside University College Hospitals NHS foundation trust and Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS trust.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the Tavistock, which leads the national Gender Identity and Development Service (Gids), said it welcomed the courts decision. Our priority is to work together with our partners to support our patients and their families while legal proceedings are ongoing, the spokesperson said.

At the start of December last year the London clinic lost a case brought by Keira Bell, a 23-year-old woman who began taking puberty blockers when she was 16 before detransitioning, and the unnamed mother of a 15-year-old autistic girl who is on the waiting list for treatment.

In their decision, Dame Victoria Sharp, president of the Queens bench division, Lord Justice Lewis and Mrs Justice Lieven, ruled that it unlikely that children under the age of 16 who were considering gender reassignment were mature enough to give informed consent to be prescribed puberty-blocking drugs.

In addition the judges ruled that even in cases involving teenagers under 18 doctors may need to consult the courts for authorisation for medical intervention. They added: It is doubtful that a child aged 14 or 15 could understand and weigh the long-term risks and consequences of the administration of puberty blockers.

At the time of the ruling an NHS spokesperson said the Tavistock had immediately suspended new referrals for puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones for the under-16s, which would henceforth only be permitted where specifically authorised by a court.

Susie Green, CEO of Mermaids, a charity providing support to transgender or non-gender-conforming children, said the initial ruling forced transgender young people to go to court to get basic healthcare.

Whatever our beliefs, most of us can agree that it is the young people themselves, together with their parents and their doctor, who best understand their needs, she said.

We are pleased to see that this ruling will now be challenged for the sake of every child who deserves the chance to live a happy life and be true to themselves.

In September last year the NHS launched an independent review into the future of gender identity services for children and young people to examine the use of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormone drugs as well as looking at how care could be improved.

The NHS service at Tavistock, to which those under the age of 18 with concerns about their gender are referred for treatment, has had a surge in demand from 77 in 2009 to 2,590 in 2018-19.

An inspection of the Tavistock and Portman NHS foundation trust gender identity services for children and young people by The Care Quality Commission due to report on Wednesday is expected to include feedback from people using the service, parents, relatives, carers and staff.

Link:
High court grants leave to appeal to UK gender identity service - The Guardian

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