NHS to close Tavistock child gender identity clinic

The NHS is to close the UK's only dedicated gender identity clinic for children and young people.

Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust has been told to shut the clinic by spring after it was criticised in an independent review.

Instead, new regional centres will be set up to "ensure the holistic needs" of patients are fully met, the NHS said.

The Trust said it supports plans for a new model due to a rise in referrals.

The independent review, led by Dr Hilary Cass, said the Tavistock clinic needed to be transformed.

It was rated as "inadequate" by inspectors who visited in late 2020, after concerns were raised by whistleblowers and reported by BBC Newsnight.

The new centres - one based in London and the other in the North West - will be run in conjunction with leading children's hospitals, including Great Ormond Street and Alder Hey.

They will help support young people under the age of 18 who are struggling with their gender identity.