NHS must offer fertility care to trans patients, watchdog says

THE NHS must offer fertility treatments to transgender patients or face legal action, the human rights watchdog has warned.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) accused the NHS of using an “interpretation” of its own legal powers to deflect criticism.

Transitioning treatment given to patients with gender dysphoria can result in fertility loss.

The EHRC said trans patients should be offered the opportunity to store eggs or sperm, a process known as gamete extraction, otherwise thousands could be forced to choose between the treatment and not having their own biological children.

The EHRC issued a legal letter to NHS England on Friday, claiming that the withholding of fertility treatments from transgender patients constituted discrimination. It warned it would take legal action if the policies were not changed. The letter is the first step of judicial review proceedings.

The core of the dispute is over which body has the power to make fertility treatment an “essential service” for transgender patients, which would mean it was offered automatically.

The EHRC placed the blame on the individual clinical commissioning groups (CCGS), the NHS bodies that plan and commission local services.

But NHS England said the EHRC had “misplaced their fire”, and said government ministers were responsible for commissioning NHS services.

Rebecca Hilsenrath, chief executive at the EHRC, said: “We have asked NHS England to reflect on the true breadth of their statutory mandate and the impact on the transgender community of these outdated policies.”

NHS England has 14 days to respond to the letter.