Today, April 10th, Dr Hilary Cass published the full final report of the independent review of Gender Identity Services for Children and Young People commissioned by NHS England and NHS Improvement in Autumn 2020, known as ‘The Cass Review’.
The Cass Review was commissioned given the ongoing challenges facing trans young people and their families in the UK in accessing timely and appropriate gender identity-related care.
Trans Equality Together is committed to learning from the findings of the Cass Report.
As a coalition, we will comprehensively review the report in order to highlight meaningful evidence and insights it can provide for the development of a model of care for trans young people in Ireland.
Trans young people and their families across the island of Ireland currently do not have access to any form of gender identity-related healthcare.
Through the Treatment Abroad Scheme, from 2012 to 2019, the HSE referred Irish young people to a satellite clinic of Tavistock Clinic, which was based at Crumlin Children’s Hospital. That service has been closed to new referrals since 2019, following the end of their contract with the HSE. In Northern Ireland additionally, trans young people and their families face extensive barriers to accessing gender identity-related healthcare as a result of a lack of service provision and extensive wait times.
Like all young people, trans young people need access to safe, timely and appropriate medical care. This is currently unavailable to trans young people in Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Trans young people are already at risk of mental health challenges, and this lack of access to life-saving healthcare compounds their vulnerability.
The HSE and the NHS have a duty to provide this care.
We call on them to urgently implement a person-centered model of care that meets international human rights and medical standards of care, and is based on the principles of self-determination and informed consent.
Trans Equality Together is a coalition working to create an Ireland where trans people are equal, safe and valued. Led by TENI, Belong To and LGBT Ireland, the coalition has 36 member organisations throughout Ireland.
Trans Equality Together, as a 36 organisation-strong coalition, is committed to ensuring trans young people are equal, safe and valued, and have access to the support and healthcare they need.
