Taoiseach: Puberty blockers should be used only in ‘sparing and very exceptional cases’
Varadkar backs Prof. Donal O’Shea who advocates a cautious approach
PUBERTY blockers should only be used in ‘very exceptional and sparing’ cases, the Taoiseach has said.
Speaking from Washington DC, Leo Varadkar said: ‘The person I would always listen to on this is Donal O’Shea, one of the most eminent endocrinologists in the state who has worked in that field.’
He added: ‘It is still an evolving area of medicine. It’s relatively new. We don’t know exactly what is correct in terms of the science here. I firmly believe the use of puberty blockers should be used only in very exceptional and sparing cases.
‘Because generally speaking, children need to go through puberty and stopping that should only be done when you’ve carried out a full assessment and the full psychosocial assessment to make sure that’s the right decision for that child. And also that the parents fully understand the consequences.’
Puberty blockers are given via injection and block hormones in the brain which kick-start physical changes, such as facial hair or breast development.
The HSE has referred over 100 young people to clinics in Antwerp,
Belgium and previously in Tavistock in the UK, which is now closing down this month. However, the HSE plans to set up a new clinical programme for gender healthcare. The HSE said there are fewerthan ten people under the age of 16 on puberty blocker medication, following specialist review by a team. Professor Donal O’Shea told the Irish Daily Mail that these referrals ‘must stop’ as he claims the services don’t provide adequate assessments of the individual. However, he welcomes the decision by the NHS in the UK to stop prescribing puberty blockers and believes the HSE’s commitment to set up an updated clinical model on gender healthcare is a ‘step in the right direction’.
He added: ‘We think the role of puberty blockers just hasn’t been studied enough, which is why we’ve been asking the HSE to stop referring patients abroad.
‘But they’ve committed to develop a model of care for trans people and appointed a colleague of mine, Dr Karl Neff as the national clinical lead to develop it, which is very positive.
‘The NHS say they will not be using these medications in the management of childhood gender to block puberty. Instead, they will only consider it in the setting of a clinical study.’
Last year, Prof O’Shea and psychiatrist Dr Paul Moran of the National Gender Service (NGS) made a formal complaint to the HSE and Hiqa about its treatment of children with gender identity issues. However, the HSE denies any allegations it has put children at risk. In December, the HSE told RTÉ’s Prime Time that there were no complaints from patients or families regarding the service they were receiving from Tavistock or Antwerp.
A HSE spokesman said the Tavistock Centre is ‘just one element of a complex care pathway’ and that it was the child’s doctors in Ireland who make the final decision on what, if any, treatment is given.
UK is stopping prescribing them