Queensland government hormone treatment for new patients under the age of 18

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Queensland's health minister has ordered an independent review into gender services after claims the cairns sexual health service has been operating outside its scope. Public access to hormone therapy for people under 18 will be banned for the duration of the investigation.

Transcript

00:00This review will look into the evidence for the use of stage one and stage two hormone

00:07treatments for children with gender dysphoria.

00:11So this would include puberty blockers as well as hormone treatments.

00:15This was a review that was announced today by the health minister here in Queensland,

00:20Tim Nicholls.

00:21It will be done by an external reviewer.

00:23We're yet to find out exactly who that person will be, but the government says it will determine

00:28the terms of reference for this review with that reviewer.

00:32The people who will be consulted for this review will include clinicians, but also people

00:37with lived experience.

00:38But the government says that while this review is underway, it will be putting a pause on

00:43any children or anyone under the age of 18 from accessing stage one and stage two hormone

00:49treatments within the public health system here in Queensland.

00:54Health Minister Tim Nicholls spoke about the Cairns Sexual Health Service in the States

00:58North today.

00:59He said there'd been an apparently unauthorised provision of paediatric gender services within

01:04this service.

01:05He said this had resulted in 17 children receiving hormone therapy that quote, may not align

01:12with the accepted Australian treatment guidelines.

01:15Now in light of this, beyond the broader review that I mentioned before, the minister also

01:20announced two other separate investigations into this service in Cairns.

01:25Here's more of what he had to say.

01:27It's critical that children and adolescents with gender dysphoria have appropriate diagnosis,

01:32care and treatment in line with guidelines and accompanied by appropriate documentation.

01:38We need to find out whether the children who have been treated in Cairns have been appropriately

01:44treated when it appears that it is otherwise.

01:47In an earlier review of the Queensland Children's Gender Service that was only conducted last

01:52year, it was estimated that about 547 children and adolescents were receiving care as of

01:59about June last year, and there were also about 491 patients who were awaiting care.

02:05So that gives you an understanding of the numbers that we're talking about here today.

02:09But as I said before, in the meantime, while this broader review is underway, the government

02:14has put a pause on any new patients under the age of 18 accessing stage one and stage

02:22two hormone therapies in the state's public health system.

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