Closure of Tavistock gender identity clinic delayed

The closure of the lone NHS sex session for children successful England and Wales has been delayed to March 2024, astir a twelvemonth aboriginal than archetypal planned.

The Gender Identity Development Service (Gids), based astatine London's Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust, volition beryllium replaced by 2 determination hubs.

A confederate hub volition unfastened successful autumn, with the bluish hub pursuing adjacent April.

A review said a caller exemplary was needed, aft Gids was heavy criticised.

No caller archetypal diligent appointments for those connected the waiting database to beryllium seen volition beryllium offered until the confederate hub opens, but the Tavistock volition proceed providing attraction for the astir 1,000 children it is presently treating.

There is presently thought to beryllium a waiting database of respective thousand for children wanting to usage the service. An online enactment work volition motorboat successful June to supply enactment to those waiting to beryllium seen.

The caller hubs are being formed with partnerships managed by London's Great Ormond Street Hospital and Alder Hey Children's Hospital, successful Liverpool.

The consequent reappraisal called for much "holistic" care, looking astatine patients' wide needs.

There has been a ample summation successful referrals to the session successful caller years and it has struggled to conscionable demand.

Many of those referred were recorded arsenic pistillate astatine commencement but developed sex distress successful their aboriginal teens.

In July past year, NHS England announced Gids would adjacent successful outpouring 2023, pursuing the interim study by Dr Hilary Cass which called the existent azygous work "unsustainable". NHS England said the timetable had since been revised due to the fact that of the complexity involved.

More than 5,000 patients were referred to Gids successful 2021-2022.