TransActual has written to James Mackey, Chief Executive Officer of NHS England, to raise serious concern over NHS England’s currently live public consultation on withdrawing access to gender affirming hormones for 16- and 17-year-olds, together with the process which has led to the Consultation and how clinical evidence is being used.
Despite a formal commitment from the NHS to maintaining equality, the practical effect of withdrawing gender affirming care from young people will be to uniquely deny access to hormone treatment widely recognised as necessary and safe in other contexts within NHS England.
NHS England’s stated concerns regarding the safety of prescribing hormone treatment are inconsistent with its wider prescribing practices.
It is well established that someone aged 16 or 17 may consent to medical treatment without parental involvement – yet this principle has been overridden too, requiring parental consent for young people to access or continue accessing healthcare.
No adequate justification has been advanced for treating this group less favourably than adults with gender dysphoria or those prescribed the same medications in other clinical contexts.
NHS England’s constitution states it “has a duty to each and every individual that it serves and must respect their human rights”, and that care should be “safe, effective and focused on patient experience”. It further requires that NHS services be coordinated around and tailored to the needs and preferences of patients, their families and carers.
The current position of NHS England is inconsistent with these principles. To deny 16- and 17-year-old trans people access to hormone treatment would represent a significant interference with an individual’s right to determine their course of medical treatment.
We’ve asked Mackey to clarify how any final decisions on access to hormone therapy will be made; to share what clinical evidence has been taken into account in this process; and to answer why NHS England has departed from its previous standard clinical approach for trans healthcare and trans healthcare only.
We eagerly await answers.