Tavistock replacements open doors to gender-confused children

Regional hubs offering mental health support for gender-confused children and young people have started to see patients from the scandal-hit Tavistock clinic.

Following the closure of the Tavistock, services at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) in London and Liverpool’s Alder Hey are set to operate under new NHS guidance informed by findings from the Cass Review.

NHS England recently confirmed that puberty-blocking drugs will no longer be ‘routinely commissioned’ for gender-confused children, although some will still be allowed to obtain cross-sex hormones “around their 16th birthday”.

Fundamentally different service

According to the London clinic – a joint venture between GOSH, Evelina London Children’s Hospital and mental health service provider the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust – under 18s “will be supported with their mental and physical health, including emotional, psychological and social aspects”.

David Bradley, Chief Executive of the Maudsley, said: “With the new holistic approach, we feel our skills and experience in both delivering care, and in research and innovation, perfectly complements the expertise of our partners in the south regional centre.”

The Northern hub, to be operated by the Alder Hey and the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital, will similarly “focus on both physical and mental health support, provided by a multi-disciplinary team”.

In joint statement, the hospitals’ Chief Executives announced that they would be providing “a fundamentally different service” to the Tavistock, with a “real focus on delivering quality care” as recommended by the Cass Review.

Safeguarding

Ahead of the launch of the first two regional hubs, Health Minister Maria Caulfield said that all will include “experts on safeguarding, neurodiversity and mental health to ensure children are protected”. More hubs are expected in the future.

In December, it was revealed that over 350 children aged six and under were referred to the controversial Tavistock clinic before it stopped accepting new referrals.

Between 2010 and 2022, 12 three-year-olds, 61 four-year-olds, 140 five-year-olds and 169 six-year-olds were referred to the Gender Identity Development Service operated by the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust.

Under NHS England’s proposed changes to the Children and Young People’s Gender Incongruence Service’s referral pathway, there would be a minimum age limit of seven even if a younger child had parental consent.

Kooth

Last year, Caulfield launched an investigation into Kooth, an NHS-linked mental health platform, after concerns were raised that it was ‘schooling’ children struggling with their mental health in gender ideology.

According to an investigation by parent group Transgender Trend, Kooth allows users to self-ID as male, female, ‘agender’ or ‘genderfluid’, hosts chats on topics such as ‘Coming Out As Trans’, and directs children to sites promoting breast-binders.

In March, a source close to Minister confirmed: “This is such an important area, involving the safeguarding of children and young people, so when concerns are raised we need to be completely satisfied with the response, and this matter is being investigated further.”