Gender service for young people to stop accepting self-referrals

Transgender rights have become a fiercely debated issue in Scotland in recent years

Scotland's gender service for young people in Glasgow will no longer accept patients who self-refer themselves.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) said the service, operated from its Sandyford Gender Identity Clinic, will now require patients to be referred by a clinician.

It follows recommendations from the Chief Medical Officer, who reviewed how the Cass Review on gender services for children and young people could be applied in Scotland.

Officials said the decision would ensure the "appropriate support and care" was provided to patients.

Both the Young People’s Gender Service, and the Adult Gender Service for the West of Scotland will be affected by the change.

Dr Emilia Crighton, the health board's director of public health, said: “Ensuring that our patients have the appropriate support and care they need is a priority for us and updating this referral process enables us to do that.

“Gender patients will now be referred by their GP, CAMHS, or Adult Mental Health service clinician. In doing so they are also advised of self-care and signposted to the appropriate support while they wait for their first gender service appointment.

“When it is time for their first appointment with the gender service, we have an accurate background for them and can immediately plan the most appropriate path of care.”

Anyone currently on a waiting list for either the Young People’s Gender Service or the Adult Gender Service for the West of Scotland will not be affected.

Pro-trans activists protested outside the Sandyford clinic in Glasgow earlier this year

The Cass Review was published in April by paediatrician Dr Hilary Cass, and called for gender services for young people to match the standards of other NHS care.

The dossier provoked political debate over a number of its conclusions, with Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie - at that time a member of the Scottish government - saying he had difficulty accepting the report as a valid scientific document.

A multidisciplinary clinical team looked into the report for the Scottish government, and made a number of suggestions. As well as the self-referring recommendation, the team also said that puberty blockers should be formally halted and that work on a regional service for children should begin immediately.

Like other parts of the UK, in recent years Scotland has seen an increase in the number of young people questioning their identity or experiencing gender dysphoria.

The Sandyford is the only specialist service for under-18s in Scotland, with a freedom of information request from BBC Scotland News previously revealing that at the end of 2023, there were 1,100 patients on the waiting list for the centre.