New gender clinic set to open as more than 1000 youths and adults in NSW seek support
A new gender care centre in Sydney is set to open this year as new figures reveal almost 1100 children and young people aged up to 25 years were referred to existing NSW Health services
NSW
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A new gender care centre in Sydney is on track to be opened this year as new figures show 1097 children and young people aged up to 25 years were referred to existing NSW Health services.
NSW Health figures obtained by The Saturday Telegraph show there were 63 new referrals of children aged under 16 years made to Trans and Gender Diverse Service at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead last year.
This represented a decrease compared with the previous year, when it received 116 new referrals.
As for total patients “seen” last year, the Westmead centre attended to 149 children whose care ranged from mental health and social support, medical care and specialist nursing.
Over at Maple Leaf House – a Newcastle-based clinic that accommodates children and young adults up to the age of 25 years – the figures show it received 443 new referrals last year, also down from 475 in the 2022.
The clinic saw a total of 986 children and young adults last year, with patients accessing a similar range of services to the Westmead centre.
Despite the downturn in referrals last year, the combined total 1097 referrals for the two-year period show there remains a strong demand for trans health services.
The total number of patients who accessed NSW Health gender care in 2023 alone was 1135.
With no NSW Health-based clinic in Sydney accommodating children aged over 16 years, the Minns government is establishing a new centre at a community-based site within the South Eastern Local Health District for patients aged under 25 years.
The new centre and the Westmead facility will together be known as The Sydney Metropolitan Hub, while Maple Leaf will form part of The Rural and Regional Hub.
NSW Health hopes the new centre – which had been expected to become operational early this year – will offer adolescents and young adults a “seamless care pathway” between the sites.
The creation of the hubs come amid a Minns government-ordered review into the scientific literature on gender-affirming care from Australia and overseas.
Health Minister Ryan Park charged independent health policy group the Sax Institute to lead the review, which followed media reports of concerns raised by former Westmead staff about controversial research from the hospital.
The Saturday Telegraph was told the review was still under way.
It is expected the review will take into account the findings of the long-awaited Cass report into gender care within the UK National Health Service (NHS), which urges further research on gender-affirming care for transgender youth.
A NSW Health spokesman said the government was committed to ensuring people of all ages across the State had timely access to the best possible health care and treatment.
“Not all young people receive medical treatment, such as puberty suppression or gender affirming hormones,” the spokesman said.
“Trans and gender diverse healthcare is a complex and evolving practice area.
“Clinicians are required to act consistently with relevant policy and legal frameworks that exist in NSW and Australia. NSW Health continues to monitor developments in the evidence to ensure care is consistent with national and international best practice.”
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