Healthcare experts have signed an open letter to Health Secretary Yvette Cooper escalating concerns over the rationale behind NHS England’s evidence reviews of gender-affirming care for under-18s.
In May of this year, over 80 clinicians, researchers and academics signed an open letter raising serious concerns about NHS England’s recent evidence reviews of gender-affirming hormone therapy for trans youth and subsequent prescribing policy.
In August, Medical Director James Palmer finally responded – yet many of the experts’ most significant concerns remain unaddressed or even acknowledged.
Dozens of clinicians, researchers and academics are now escalating their concerns directly to the Secretary of State for Health, Yvette Cooper.
In a further open letter, the experts highlight:
- the confused rationale underpinning these evidence reviews
- significant methodological flaws, including those which ignore gold-standard Cochrane guidance
- misapplication of findings to deny gender-affirming care
- failure to develop any plan to monitor the impact of the proposed policy update on trans youth
Dr Simona Giordano, Professor of Bioethics at University of Manchester Law School states:
“[Professor Palmer’s reply] does not adequately engage with several of the substantive concerns raised in the original clinicians’ and researchers’ letter, particularly those regarding the rationale for commissioning a further evidence review, the methodological choices underpinning the review process, and the implications of those methodological decisions for the evidence base considered.”
As Dr Chris Noone, Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Galloway notes:
“Guidance development and evidence reviews in Poland, France, Germany, and the Netherlands have all concluded that Gender Affirming Hormones are safe and effective as part of the care provided by gender services for young people.”
He also notes that “the withdrawal of this intervention (1) does not follow from the existing evidence, and (2) does not consider the evidence on the risks of withdrawing this intervention” before concluding that “the argument for NHS England changing this Clinical Commissioning Policy appears to be extremely weak.”
The experts call on the Health Secretary to meet urgently with Professor Palmer and seek answers to the unresolved ethical and methodological concerns outlined in their letters, before any proposed change to the provision of gender-affirming hormones for under-18s is finalised.
Read the full open letter now.
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