Nesbitt defends extra money for gender identity services

Health Minister Mike Nesbitt said the clinic would put a "huge emphasis of psychological and psychiatric help"

Health Minister Mike Nesbitt has defended his decision to allocate more than £800,000 to gender identity services in Northern Ireland.

His department announced the move last month, but it has faced criticism from the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) as well as some Ulster Unionist assembly members.

The Belfast Health Trust runs the Brackenburn Clinic, based in south Belfast, which has a service for adults experiencing gender dysphoria. There is also a separate service for young people.

The minister said the decision to put extra funding into the services came because he wanted Northern Ireland to be part of the UK-wide ban on puberty blockers.

Puberty blockers ban

The trust said there were currently 1,163 adults on the waiting list, as well as 45 children and young people on a separate waiting list.

Nesbitt said the adult and youth services were being amalgamated to ensure those seeking help did not find themselves on a "waiting list cliff edge" when they turn 18.

Puberty blockers work by suppressing the release of hormones and have been prescribed to children questioning their gender.

Last year, the government tightened the rules on the drugs, with the Stormont Executive supporting an indefinite ban in December.

"It was made clear to me this would not happen unless we put some money to revive the gender identity clinic, which was basically lying dormant through a lack of funding," added the minister.

He cited concerns over people accessing the drugs through "international providers" that the Department of Health had "no control" over, as the gender identity service was not up and running.

"There is an example of a doctor who is Spanish working out of Romania, prescribing through Singapore - we have no control over the safety of that operation so that's why we decided to put some money into the gender identity service," he said.

The minister said gender identity services had started in Northern Ireland in 2014, and that the clinic would put a "huge emphasis on psychological and psychiatric help".

Alexa Moore from the Rainbow Project welcomed the funding and said there has been a "crisis" in gender identity services in NI for eight years

What has been the reaction?

The Rainbow Project said it "cautiously welcomed" the investment into the clinic, but that the department needed to ensure a high quality of care for those accessing services.

Speaking on Good Morning Ulster, Alexa Moore, from the Rainbow Project, said there has been a "crisis" in gender identity services in Northern Ireland for eight years.

"These services collapsed and we've been waiting since then to get a barebones services up and running.

"Access to transition related healthcare is not a bad thing for many people and it can be lifesaving care for some people," she said.

She said it is important for trans people to be a part of the conversation going forward.

DUP assembly member, Jonathan Buckley said the policy represents misplaced priorities and "a track in the wrong direction" from the minister.

"I felt the minister should have brought it to his executive colleagues to have a robust public discussion and debate about what is in the best interest of our young people and wider society," he added.

He said he had concerns about "gender ideology" at clinics.

The TUV assembly member Timothy Gaston called for the extra funding to be withdrawn and is to submit a public petition on the issue to the assembly next month.

Jonathan Buckley said he had concerns about "gender ideology" at clinics

Confirming a report in the News Letter that several years ago a five-year-old child had been accepted as a patient to the service, Nesbitt said he was still "asking questions about what had happened there".

"I'm also still asking questions about who knew what in terms of ministers over the years, it is really important we are clear about what this service does and does not do," he added.

Currently, the longest wait for an adult to be seen at the clinic is more than seven years.

The trust said it wanted to sincerely apologise to those affected by delays, which it put down to an "insufficient workforce due to the absence of a commissioned service and workforce recruitment challenges".

"Demand for the service has also increased significantly over recent years. We fully accept that the waiting time for gender services is unacceptable and not in keeping with the waiting time directive," a statement added.

People in Northern Ireland can change their legal gender under the Gender Recognition Act (GRA) 2005.

However, they need to be at least 18 years old and provide two medical reports, one from a specialist detailing their diagnosis of gender dysphoria and another listing any treatment or surgery they may have had to change their sexual characteristics.

They also must prove they have lived full-time in their acquired gender for at least two years and have to apply to a UK gender recognition panel.

Last month, the Equality Commission said it would seek a declaration from the High Court to address "uncertainties" over how to apply the UK Supreme Court ruling on the legal definition of a woman in Northern Ireland.