Queensland ban on puberty blockers for gender dysphoria to continue until at least 2031, LNP announces | Health

The suspension of puberty blockers and hormone therapy for new teenage patients with gender dysphoria in Queensland’s public system will continue until at least 2031, state health minister Tim Nicholls announced on Friday.

The decision came despite a review by Victoria’s former chief psychiatrist Prof Ruth Vine. publicIt concludes that treatment decisions “should be made taking into account each individual’s situation and circumstances.”

The review found that with proper and careful supervision, standards and appropriate reporting “it may be beneficial for a young person to have access to puberty blockers”.

In October, the Queensland supreme court ruled that the government’s first attempt to ban the prescription of puberty blockers and hormones to teenagers with gender dysphoria was unlawful. It prompted Nicholls to issue a new order banning the prescriptions hours later.

Young people who received treatment before the first ban will not be affected. At the time, Nicholls said the ban would remain in place until the Vine review was completed.

Nicholls said on Friday that Vine’s review was now being considered by cabinet and the Queensland ban would remain in place until a clinical trial in the UK, run by the National Health Service, was completed. The case is expected to be completed in 2031.

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“Some people will disagree with this, but the government’s accepted view, based on the material available to it, is that it is in the public interest for the pause to continue while the hearing continues,” Nicholls told a news conference.

“We recognize that this is a very controversial area.”

Vine was not asked to give medical advice.

Its report notes that international reviews suggest that the evidence supporting the use of puberty blockers and gender-affirming hormones by gender-questioning adolescents is limited and often of low quality.

But the review also emphasizes that limited evidence does not equal evidence of harm. It found that stopping care for trans young people would not contribute to strengthening the evidence base.

“Evidence reviews found some (albeit limited) evidence of benefit in the short to medium term,” the report says. “There is also no good evidence of harm in the short or medium term, and very little evidence of harm in the long term.”

It is difficult to establish evidence in certain areas of medicine because large randomized controlled trials on children are often unethical or impractical, and relatively few patients are affected by gender dysphoria, resulting in small sample sizes.

Associate Professor Ada Cheung, an endocrinologist at Austin Health, said the quality of evidence in the field of treating gender dysphoria is similar to many other areas of child health.

Cheung, a clinician who works with transgender people, said he would “welcome more high-quality evidence to continue to further strengthen care” but said it was important for politicians and policymakers “not to ignore the physician’s clinical expertise and patient values, which are also fundamental considerations of evidence-based medicine.”

Youth, parents and clinicians “consistently tell us that timely access to gender-affirming medical care is incredibly important,” Cheung said.

The Vine review found low-quality but consistent evidence that puberty blockers, when prescribed carefully, can reduce sex-related distress that can intensify during adolescence.

It also found low-quality but consistent evidence that hormone therapy “can alleviate existing gender dysphoric distress and is associated with beneficial psychosocial effects.”

Rachel Hinds is chief executive of Open Doors Youth Service, which provides mental health support and helps access healthcare to the LGBTQ+ community. He criticized the timing of the announcement, which coincided with the closure of many support services, leaving families and young people without support over the Christmas and New Year period.

“This is really putting the lives of trans and gender diverse young people at risk,” he said.

“The timing demonstrates a complete disregard and lack of concern for the youth of this state and those who care about them.”