Children treated at gender identity clinics

It is important children get support immediately says charity

MORE than two dozen children from Leicestershire were being treated at a gender identity clinic last year, exclusive figures have shown.

Those are the findings of a Reach Data Unit investigation - which can reveal that, across England, kids as young as five are under the care of the Gender Identity Development Service.

There were 28 children being treated in 2018/19 who had been referred from the Leicestershire area.

The Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust runs the Gender Identity Development service, which is based in London and Leeds and is the only one for children and young people in Great Britain.

The Trust said some of the children they see will have been born as male but may not feel like a boy when older - or may prefer wearing clothes or playing with toys that are stereotypically for girls.

They may also feel or say that they are a girl.

In the same way, some children born as female might feel or say they are a boy.

Others might say that neither “boy” nor “girl” is the right word for how they feel about themselves.

The Trust said the figures exclude cases that were open but where the child had not yet been seen.

The 28 kids treated at the clinic who’d been referred by Leicestershire CCGs was down slightly from 33 the year before, but the same as in 2016/17.

It is possible that some of the children from previous years were still receiving treatment in 2018/19 so were included in more than one year of analysis.

A spokesperson for the charity Mermaids said: “It’s vital that transgender and gender diverse children get the support they need immediately so they can avoid the distress caused by feeling lost, trapped and alone.

“Research shows a high instance of self-harm and suicidal tendencies amongst kids and teens struggling with their gender identity and the figures are backed up by our own 25 years of experience.

“The good news is that worried parents see a huge difference in their children when they’re allowed to explore their gender and express who they are.

“Moods improve, school grades get better, friends are made and a kid who’d seemed sad, angry and isolated comes back to life.

“That’s why the guidance from the World Professional Association for Transgender Health advises affirmative care, which means allowing people to live as the gender they truly are, not the gender assigned to them at birth.

“Unfortunately, the Tavistock Centre chooses to take a more questioning approach.

“This, combined with a wait for consultations of up to two years and a further wait to access puberty blockers, is causing a tortuous delay for many young people and we would urge the government to give more funding to the service and for our NHS specialists to assume the WPATH approach.”

Across England, there were at least 2,942 children aged 17 and under receiving treatment from the Gender Identity Service in 2018/19.

Children born as girls were far more likely to be treated by the service accounting for 2,019 of the total.

Nationally, six children aged five who were born as girls were receiving treatment in 2018/19.

Fewer than five children aged six who were born as boys were also receiving treatment that year.

A total of 27 children aged six were being treated, 49 aged seven and 62 aged eight.

There were 80 children aged nine, 79 aged 10 and 116 aged 11.

The remaining 2,523 children being treated were aged between 12 and 17.

The NHS advises that parents who think their child might be trans or non-binary should visit their GP.

A spokesperson from the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust said: “We work closely with young people and their families – plus local healthcare teams when appropriate – to provide support and information as they explore their gender identity development.

“We treat every young person who visits our service individually on a case-by case basis.

“Our clinicians have no preference or expectation for what pathway each young person may choose to follow in relation to their gender identification.

“We appreciate that it can be difficult for young people and their family while waiting for a first appointment at GIDS and are working hard to reduce the waiting times.

“Those on the waiting list can contact a GIDS clinician for any concerns or queries while waiting for a first appointment.

“GIDS is a highly specialist service and operates in a network model with local services. There is an important role for local mental health services to support young people with co-occuring mental health or developmental difficulties.

“Similarly, increased awareness of the range of options open to young people and local support to explore their gender preferences prior to attending highly specialist services is helpful as a substantial proportion of young people referred to the service do not ultimately follow a physical treatment pathway.”