Former Tavistock staff 'set up a new private gender clinic'
Former staff from controversial NHS Tavistock gender identity clinic have ‘set up a new private facility’ for children and teenagers
- Gender Plus is unveiled after NHS England said it would be closing the Tavistock
A private gender clinic has been set up by former staff from a controversial NHS unit, it has been reported.
Gender Plus offers ‘specialist gender assessment for children, adolescent and young adults’ that can be used as ‘onward referral to an appropriate endocrine or surgical team.’
About half of the staff members listed at the new centre have worked with the Tavistock, according to the Telegraph.
This includes Clinical Director Dr Aidan Kelly, who was at the NHS’s only gender clinic for children for five years.
Paul Carruthers, who was part of the NHS’s Gender Identity Development Service, will head an ‘associated hormone clinic’, according to its website.
About half of the staff members listed at the new centre have worked with the controversial Tavistock clinic
Gender Plus offers a range of service including gender assessment, which tends to consist of six meetings over six months.
The first appointment with a consultant clinician can be held over Zoom and costs £275.
After completing the assessment, and being on hormone therapy for six months, a patient can then book a ‘surgery referral’, which is also priced at £275.
The new clinic has been unveiled after NHS England announced it would be closing the Tavistock amid safety fears.
It comes just days after NHS England confirmed that it will only prescribe puberty blockers to children as part of clinical trials because there is insufficient evidence to support their safety or clinical effectiveness.
A spokesman for Gender Plus said: ‘Gender Plus is a private gender service that accepts referrals for children, adolescents and adults. Our staff team is multi-disciplinary with medical and non-medical experts in the field of gender healthcare, mental health, and neurodevelopment.
‘We take a developmental approach to deliver an accessible, holistic and comprehensive service that goes some way towards meeting the huge level of unmet need that exists currently. We are aware and up-to-date with the recent NHS England service specifications.
‘Our team of experienced and specialist clinicians will continue to try and best meet the needs of this marginalised and sometimes vulnerable group.’
Source: Read Full Article