Former Tavistock centre staffer who is now director at new private gender clinic says he hopes to start prescribing cross-sex hormones to teenagers within a ‘couple of months’
- Dr Aidan Kelly said Gender Plus plans to open hormone clinic this autumn
A former staff member at the controversial Tavistock clinic has revealed that he hopes to start prescribing cross-sex hormones within the ‘next couple of months’ to teenagers who are questioning their gender.
Dr Aidan Kelly, director at Gender Plus, is one of a number of former Tavistock specialists who have set up a new private practice which is set to refer patients for hormone treatment and reassignment surgery.
The clinic, based in east London, plans to open an in-house hormone clinic this autumn, which will be available to patients aged 16 and over.
It is currently accepting patients for consultations as it applies to register with the Care Quality Commission to be able to prescribe hormone treatments, ‘where appropriate’, to people who identify as transgender.
‘We have applied,’ Dr Kelly told Times Radio. ‘And we’re hoping that, yeah, obviously once we get that sorted out in the next couple of months, then we’ll be able to start.’
Dr Aidan Kelly, director at Gender Plus, is one of a number of former Tavistock specialists who have set up a new private practice
The clinic also provides gender assessment appointments ‘for children, adolescent and young adults’.
Dr Kelly it would be ‘very unusual… but not impossible’ for his team to see children under the age of eight.
He made clear that no referrals for surgery would be made for any patients under the age of 18.
Gender Plus, which also has locations in Birmingham and Dublin, also offers
One hour sessions will reportedly set clients back £275 and can be booked via its website without an NHS referral.
The Tavistock was the NHS’s main gender identity service for young people, but was closed down last year over safety concerns.
The Tavistock was the NHS’s main gender identity service for young people, but was closed down last year over safety concerns
Its closure came in response to a review led by senior paediatrician Dr Hilary Cass, who warned the gender clinic was ‘not a safe or viable long-term option’.
She found other mental health issues were ‘overshadowed’ in favour of gender identity issues when children were referred to Tavistock’s Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS).
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