Latest news with #PATHA
Scoop
6 days ago
- Health
- Scoop
Government Directive To Sport NZ Is Harmful
PATHA, the Professional Association for Transgender Health Aotearoa, is deeply disappointed to learn that the Government has given direction to Sport NZ to remove guidelines that supported the inclusion and active participation of trans and non-binary people in community sport across Aotearoa. The benefits of participating in sports on physical and mental health and overall wellbeing are well researched and proven. Vulnerable communities such as trans and non-binary individuals face systemic barriers in health. The Government's directive to Sport NZ adds to these barriers, preventing trans and non-binary people from living healthier lives. Trans and non-binary people's involvement in sport should be encouraged and welcomed; a step towards creating better health outcomes for the community. The 2022 Counting Ourselves survey of trans and non-binary people in Aotearoa highlights the inequities in trans and non-binary people's access to sport and recreational exercise. The survey showed that many trans and non-binary people already avoid recreational and competitive sport due to feelings of unsafe and unfair treatment. Almost half of Counting Ourselves respondents avoided gender-segregated exercise or recreational sport because they did not know if trans or non-binary people were welcome. Trans and non-binary people participate significantly less in active recreation, competition, events and other organised sport compared to the general population. Only 23% of respondents felt included in sports and active recreational activities they had engaged in because they could be themselves around other participants. This demonstrates an unwelcoming culture in Aotearoa's sporting world. Sport NZ's Government-ordered removal of the guideline worsens the current unwelcoming and isolating culture for trans and non-binary people in sport. The Government's directive contributes to denying a vulnerable population access to an essential tool for their health. This is the second guideline relating to transgender inclusion and w This is the second guideline relating to transgender inclusion and wellbeing that this Government has delayed or cancelled, with the updated Guidelines for Gender Affirming Healthcare indefinitely delayed by the Minister of Health since March. PATHA hopes that the Government can recognise its decision's harmful effects on an already vulnerable population, and will instead work to support trans and non-binary people to participate in sport.
RNZ News
05-06-2025
- Health
- RNZ News
Prominent medical bodies call for release of delayed gender affirming healthcare guidelines
Te Whatu Ora was due to release the guidelines in March. Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver Prominent medical bodies are calling on the government to allow the release of updated gender affirming healthcare guidelines after a small section on puberty blockers caused it to be delayed. The guidelines were due to be released at the end of March but it's is now unclear when they will be. The Professional Association for Transgender Health Aotearoa, who was asked by Te Whatu Ora to update the guidelines, believes the delay is "due to unprecedented and inappropriate political interference". Te Whatu Ora says it'll publish the guidelines "once decisions are made by the government following the ministry's consultation process". Public submissions on the matter closed 20 January. But PATHA says the advice on puberty blockers in the guidelines was updated in November to reflect the Ministry of Health's new position and this was approved by Te Whatu Ora's National Clinical Governance Group. It says this advice makes up only six pages out of the total 182 pages of the document. The guidelines cover all aspects of gender-affirming care to support trans and non-binary people and their families to navigate healthcare. This includes whānau support, creating inclusive clinical environments, non-medical and non-surgical gender affirmation, speech and language therapy, fertility and sexual health, mental wellbeing, gender-affirming hormone therapy, and detransition, as well as specific guidance for Māori, Pasifika, and refugee and asylum seeker trans people, PATHA said. More than 300 medical bodies, community organisations, and individual healthcare professionals have signed an open letter calling for the government to allow Te Whatu Ora to release the guidelines. These include General Practice New Zealand (GPNZ), Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners, The Paediatric Society of NZ, New Zealand College of Clinical Psychologists, New Zealand College of Primary Health Care Nurses, College of Child and Youth Nurses and New Zealand Nurses Organisation. PATHA president Jennifer Shields said delaying the release impacts on the ability to improve healthcare delivery and health outcomes for the transgender and non-binary population. "Less than 24 hours before the date of publication, there was an unnecessary, indefinite and unexplained delay in the publication of these clinical guidelines, we believe due to unprecedented and inappropriate political interference." In November, the government released its evidence brief on puberty blockers and a position statement which sets out its expectations for their use. It signalled its intention to consider regulating them in gender affirming care and tasked the ministry with consultation, opening up public submissions. Regulatory measures could include restricting prescribing puberty blockers in the context of gender affirming care for young people but not its use in other contexts, the ministry said. Further measures being considered by the ministry included updating clinical guidance and increasing monitoring of prescriptions. The Green Party has denounced the signalled change of approach. Medical practitioners are currently working with guidelines published in 2018. PATHA said Te Whatu Ora contacted it in 2023 to update these. "It is standard practice for guidelines to be periodically updated to ensure their content is kept up to date. PATHA submitted the updated guidelines in October 2024 and they followed the standard process for publication of a clinical guideline, and were approved by Te Whatu Ora's National Clinical Governance Group." Vice president Dr Rona Carroll said clinicians are asking for up-to-date guidance to provide appropriate and safe healthcare. "The need for this updated guidance is clear and something I hear from health professionals on a daily basis. We just want to be able to publish these guidelines so the clinicians who need them can use them." Health NZ Te Whatu Ora national clinical director primary and community care Dr Sarah Clarke said it acknowledges the guidelines currently being used are from 2018 and that the evidence base in this area continues to evolve. "In the interim, and ahead of the updated guidelines being published, our advice is that health professionals continue to provide effective care based on the best available evidence and consult and take advice from colleagues more experienced in this care when appropriate." Puberty blockers can be used as part of gender affirming care to delay the onset of puberty by suppressing oestrogen and testosterone. They are also used for precocious puberty in children, and the ministry says the same medications can be used in adults to treat endometriosis, breast and prostate cancer, and polycystic ovary syndrome. The evidence brief released in November and subsequent public consultation only looked at the use of blockers specifically as they related to gender affirming care. The ministry says overall, the evidence brief found "significant limitations in the quality of evidence for either the benefits or risks (or lack thereof) of the use of puberty blockers". Following the release of the evidence brief, the ministry directed clinicians to exercise caution in prescribing puberty blockers. At the time Shields said this was already in line with New Zealand best practice and it was reassuring to see the ministry recognise this.
Scoop
30-05-2025
- Health
- Scoop
Health Professionals Concerned At Further Delays To Gender Affirming Healthcare Guidelines
Press Release – PATHA This is clear evidence of ideological interference in an operational, professional frontline medical resource that is being requested by the health sector. We reiterate our call for the Government to allow Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand to publish these … The Professional Association for Transgender Health Aotearoa (PATHA) is deeply concerned at further delays to the publication of updated Guidelines for Gender Affirming Healthcare in Aotearoa New Zealand. PATHA has been informed by Te Whatu Ora | Health New Zealand that the updated Guidelines will not be published until the Minister of Health decides on whether to introduce regulations on the ability of medical professionals to prescribe puberty blockers as part of gender affirming healthcare. The guideline's advice on prescribing puberty blockers was updated in November 2024 to reflect the Ministry of Health's position statement on the use of these medications. This advice spans just 6 of the total 182 pages of information contained in the guidelines. The guidance is evidence-based, aligns with international best practice and guidelines, and supports a holistic approach to gender affirming medical care for young people who need it. 'Medical professionals working in this area are constantly being asked by colleagues for clinical guidance on gender-affirming healthcare,' says Dr Rona Carroll, a Specialist General Practitioner and Vice-President of PATHA. 'By not publishing the updated guidelines, the government is stopping healthcare providers from being guided by evidence-based, up-to-date New Zealand specific information. We have been given no timeframe for when to expect a decision about the puberty blocker consultation or the updated guidelines. Considering how many other areas of health these guidelines include, and that the advice on prescribing puberty blockers is in line with the Ministry's position statement, the updated guidelines should be published immediately. I think clinicians would be providing safer care if they had access to these guidelines today.' On Wednesday, 28 May, PATHA published an open letter calling on the Minister of Health, Simeon Brown and the Associate Minister for Health, Matt Doocey, to release the updated guidance. This letter was signed by over 500 medical bodies, clinicians and community organisations. Signatories include the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners, the New Zealand Society of Endocrinology, the College of Child and Youth Nurses, and the Paediatric Society of New Zealand. The evidence-based guidelines, which have been peer reviewed by clinicians with expertise in this care from within New Zealand and internationally, provide detailed information on a wide range of topics relevant to healthcare for transgender and non-binary people. This includes several revised chapters from the 2018 edition in line with emerging medical research. 'I'm proud of the amount of work the authors have put into these guidelines, bringing their extensive collective expertise into creating guidance that is broad and has a holistic view of transgender health,' says Jennifer Shields, PATHA President. 'These guidelines cover so much more than puberty blocker medication, and this information is important for all healthcare workers to have.' 'It is clear that there is no evidence-based justification for considering restrictions on prescribing puberty blockers to transgender young people,' Shields says. 'These medications continue to be prescribed to children for other indications, and limitations in the quality of the academic evidence are not unique to this care. Healthcare professionals are now left wondering if this government is being pulled into alarming 'culture war' trends away from best practice medical care, and into anti-transgender policies that lead to a reduction in patients' rights and freedoms, and set precedent for making clinical decisions based on political beliefs rather than what's best for patients.' 'This is clear evidence of ideological interference in an operational, professional frontline medical resource that is being requested by the health sector,' Carroll said. 'We reiterate our call for the Government to allow Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand to publish these updated guidelines immediately.' Background information Statement on puberty blockers On 21st November 2024, the Ministry of Health published a position statement on the use of puberty blockers in gender affirming care, emphasising that puberty blockers could continue to be prescribed when needed as part of interdisciplinary teams. The Government expressed an intention to explore further restrictions on access to this care, and opened public consultation on possible restrictions. This consultation closed on 20th January 2025. A memo sent to then Minister of Health Shane Reti on 30 April 2024 was released to PATHA under the Official Information Act. In this memo, the Ministry of Health clarified that: 'There is currently no evidence that individual clinicians are prescribing [puberty blockers] outside of an interprofessional team.' This shows that concerns about individual professionals prescribing puberty blockers inappropriately are unfounded, and current prescribing practices are already in line with the Ministry's position statement. PATHA previously published a collective statement opposing the restrictions the Government is considering on the prescription of puberty blockers to transgender young people. This statement also received broad support from medical bodies, including the New Zealand Paediatrics Society and the New Zealand Society of Endocrinology. The statement reads [in part]: 'The Ministry of Health Evidence Brief identified that any evidence of harm associated with providing puberty-blocking medication is limited and inconclusive, and withholding this care may exacerbate gender dysphoria and negatively impact mental health. Equitable and non-discriminatory access to this care should be provided and maintained throughout the country. Decisions about prescribing puberty blockers should continue to be made collaboratively between young people, their families or support people, and the health professionals involved in their care. These decisions are individualised, based on informed consent, and guided by professional training, clinical experience, and the best available evidence. Any move to restrict access to puberty blockers would be a political decision and not one based on clinical guidance from health experts in New Zealand and international best practice. Medical decisions should remain free from political interference.' Background on puberty blockers Puberty blockers are a medication called gonadotrophic releasing hormone (GnRH) agonists. They were developed in the 1980s for use in much younger children with precocious (early) puberty, and have been used in gender affirming care for over 20 years. They halt the development of secondary sexual characteristics, such as breast growth or voice deepening, and can relieve distress associated with these bodily changes for transgender young people. Puberty blockers have the benefit of allowing the young person time before making any decisions regarding starting on gender affirming hormone therapy. The effect puberty blockers have on pausing pubertal changes is reversible. Once the puberty blocker medication has been stopped, puberty will resume as it would have done without medication. All medications have known or potential risks, but evidence and experience to date does not raise significant concerns about the safety of puberty blockers. As is the case in all medical prescribing, risks, side effects and benefits of medications are discussed with patients as part of the informed consent process before prescribing. There are also risks to not prescribing medications when they are indicated. Puberty results in irreversible physical changes, which can result in lifelong distress and gender dysphoria for some transgender people. In every area of healthcare, decisions about treatment and medication prescribing take all of these aspects into account, and health professionals support patients and their families to weigh up the pros and cons for their individual situation. Gender affirming healthcare is no different. Decisions about whether to start puberty blockers are made between health professionals, young people and their whānau. These are healthcare decisions which should remain free from ideological political interference. Clinicians who initiate puberty blockers should be experienced in providing gender affirming healthcare and working within an interdisciplinary team. It is essential that access to this care and to puberty blocker medication is maintained. Topics covered by the updated Guidelines Advice on the prescription of puberty blockers is a small portion of the content covered by the updated guidelines. The updated guidance also includes detailed information on a broad number of other areas of transgender health, including whānau support, creating inclusive clinical environments, non-medical and non-surgical gender affirmation, speech and language therapy, fertility and sexual health, mental wellbeing, gender-affirming hormone therapy, and detransition, as well as specific guidance for Māori, Pasifika, and refugee and asylum seeker trans people.
Scoop
30-05-2025
- Health
- Scoop
Health Professionals Concerned At Further Delays To Gender Affirming Healthcare Guidelines
The Professional Association for Transgender Health Aotearoa (PATHA) is deeply concerned at further delays to the publication of updated Guidelines for Gender Affirming Healthcare in Aotearoa New Zealand. PATHA has been informed by Te Whatu Ora | Health New Zealand that the updated Guidelines will not be published until the Minister of Health decides on whether to introduce regulations on the ability of medical professionals to prescribe puberty blockers as part of gender affirming healthcare. The guideline's advice on prescribing puberty blockers was updated in November 2024 to reflect the Ministry of Health's position statement on the use of these medications. This advice spans just 6 of the total 182 pages of information contained in the guidelines. The guidance is evidence-based, aligns with international best practice and guidelines, and supports a holistic approach to gender affirming medical care for young people who need it. 'Medical professionals working in this area are constantly being asked by colleagues for clinical guidance on gender-affirming healthcare,' says Dr Rona Carroll, a Specialist General Practitioner and Vice-President of PATHA. 'By not publishing the updated guidelines, the government is stopping healthcare providers from being guided by evidence-based, up-to-date New Zealand specific information. We have been given no timeframe for when to expect a decision about the puberty blocker consultation or the updated guidelines. Considering how many other areas of health these guidelines include, and that the advice on prescribing puberty blockers is in line with the Ministry's position statement, the updated guidelines should be published immediately. I think clinicians would be providing safer care if they had access to these guidelines today.' On Wednesday, 28 May, PATHA published an open letter calling on the Minister of Health, Simeon Brown and the Associate Minister for Health, Matt Doocey, to release the updated guidance. This letter was signed by over 500 medical bodies, clinicians and community organisations. Signatories include the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners, the New Zealand Society of Endocrinology, the College of Child and Youth Nurses, and the Paediatric Society of New Zealand. The evidence-based guidelines, which have been peer reviewed by clinicians with expertise in this care from within New Zealand and internationally, provide detailed information on a wide range of topics relevant to healthcare for transgender and non-binary people. This includes several revised chapters from the 2018 edition in line with emerging medical research. 'I'm proud of the amount of work the authors have put into these guidelines, bringing their extensive collective expertise into creating guidance that is broad and has a holistic view of transgender health,' says Jennifer Shields, PATHA President. 'These guidelines cover so much more than puberty blocker medication, and this information is important for all healthcare workers to have.' 'It is clear that there is no evidence-based justification for considering restrictions on prescribing puberty blockers to transgender young people,' Shields says. 'These medications continue to be prescribed to children for other indications, and limitations in the quality of the academic evidence are not unique to this care. Healthcare professionals are now left wondering if this government is being pulled into alarming 'culture war' trends away from best practice medical care, and into anti-transgender policies that lead to a reduction in patients' rights and freedoms, and set precedent for making clinical decisions based on political beliefs rather than what's best for patients.' 'This is clear evidence of ideological interference in an operational, professional frontline medical resource that is being requested by the health sector,' Carroll said. 'We reiterate our call for the Government to allow Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand to publish these updated guidelines immediately.' Background information Statement on puberty blockers On 21st November 2024, the Ministry of Health published a position statement on the use of puberty blockers in gender affirming care, emphasising that puberty blockers could continue to be prescribed when needed as part of interdisciplinary teams. The Government expressed an intention to explore further restrictions on access to this care, and opened public consultation on possible restrictions. This consultation closed on 20th January 2025. A memo sent to then Minister of Health Shane Reti on 30 April 2024 was released to PATHA under the Official Information Act. In this memo, the Ministry of Health clarified that: 'There is currently no evidence that individual clinicians are prescribing [puberty blockers] outside of an interprofessional team.' This shows that concerns about individual professionals prescribing puberty blockers inappropriately are unfounded, and current prescribing practices are already in line with the Ministry's position statement. PATHA previously published a collective statement opposing the restrictions the Government is considering on the prescription of puberty blockers to transgender young people. This statement also received broad support from medical bodies, including the New Zealand Paediatrics Society and the New Zealand Society of Endocrinology. The statement reads [in part]: 'The Ministry of Health Evidence Brief identified that any evidence of harm associated with providing puberty-blocking medication is limited and inconclusive, and withholding this care may exacerbate gender dysphoria and negatively impact mental health. Equitable and non-discriminatory access to this care should be provided and maintained throughout the country. Decisions about prescribing puberty blockers should continue to be made collaboratively between young people, their families or support people, and the health professionals involved in their care. These decisions are individualised, based on informed consent, and guided by professional training, clinical experience, and the best available evidence. Any move to restrict access to puberty blockers would be a political decision and not one based on clinical guidance from health experts in New Zealand and international best practice. Medical decisions should remain free from political interference.' Background on puberty blockers Puberty blockers are a medication called gonadotrophic releasing hormone (GnRH) agonists. They were developed in the 1980s for use in much younger children with precocious (early) puberty, and have been used in gender affirming care for over 20 years. They halt the development of secondary sexual characteristics, such as breast growth or voice deepening, and can relieve distress associated with these bodily changes for transgender young people. Puberty blockers have the benefit of allowing the young person time before making any decisions regarding starting on gender affirming hormone therapy. The effect puberty blockers have on pausing pubertal changes is reversible. Once the puberty blocker medication has been stopped, puberty will resume as it would have done without medication. All medications have known or potential risks, but evidence and experience to date does not raise significant concerns about the safety of puberty blockers. As is the case in all medical prescribing, risks, side effects and benefits of medications are discussed with patients as part of the informed consent process before prescribing. There are also risks to not prescribing medications when they are indicated. Puberty results in irreversible physical changes, which can result in lifelong distress and gender dysphoria for some transgender people. In every area of healthcare, decisions about treatment and medication prescribing take all of these aspects into account, and health professionals support patients and their families to weigh up the pros and cons for their individual situation. Gender affirming healthcare is no different. Decisions about whether to start puberty blockers are made between health professionals, young people and their whānau. These are healthcare decisions which should remain free from ideological political interference. Clinicians who initiate puberty blockers should be experienced in providing gender affirming healthcare and working within an interdisciplinary team. It is essential that access to this care and to puberty blocker medication is maintained. Topics covered by the updated Guidelines Advice on the prescription of puberty blockers is a small portion of the content covered by the updated guidelines. The updated guidance also includes detailed information on a broad number of other areas of transgender health, including whānau support, creating inclusive clinical environments, non-medical and non-surgical gender affirmation, speech and language therapy, fertility and sexual health, mental wellbeing, gender-affirming hormone therapy, and detransition, as well as specific guidance for Māori, Pasifika, and refugee and asylum seeker trans people.
Scoop
27-05-2025
- Health
- Scoop
Health Professionals, Medical Bodies & Community Orgs Call For Publication Of Guidelines For Gender Affirming Care
Press Release – PATHA Signatories to the open letter, which include medical bodies, health services, rainbow community organisations & individual practitioners are calling on the government to allow Health NZ | Te Whatu Ora to publish the updated Guidelines for Gender Affirming … Health professionals, medical bodies, and community organisations have signed an open letter calling for the publication of updated clinical Guidelines for Gender Affirming Healthcare in Aotearoa New Zealand, expressing concern that the publication has been delayed. Health professionals are asking for updated guidance on providing appropriate and safe healthcare to transgender and non-binary patients. In 2023 Health NZ | Te Whatu Ora contracted the Professional Association for Transgender Health Aotearoa (PATHA) to update the 2018 guidelines for gender affirming healthcare. It is standard practice for guidelines to be periodically updated to ensure their content is kept up to date. PATHA submitted the updated guidelines in October 2024 and they followed the standard process for publication of a clinical guideline, and were approved by Te Whatu Ora's National Clinical Governance Group. 'It is frustrating for so much work to have been put into the update of these guidelines by so many experts in this field, only to have them held up at this final stage,' says Dr Rona Carroll, PATHA Vice-President. 'The need for this updated guidance is clear and something I hear from health professionals on a daily basis. We just want to be able to publish these guidelines so the clinicians who need them can use them.' The evidence-based guidelines, which have been peer reviewed by clinicians with expertise in this care from within New Zealand and internationally, cover a wide range of topics relevant to transgender and non-binary health and wellbeing, including new chapters on creating inclusive healthcare environments, non-medical gender affirmation options, and more. The small section within this comprehensive document relating to prescribing puberty blockers aligns with the Ministry of Health's position statement on this care and supports safe prescribing for young people. The guidelines were due for publication at the end of March 2025. 'We're aware that in the days before publication, an FYI was sent to the Minister and Associate Minister of Health,' says Jennifer Shields, PATHA President. 'Less than 24 hours before the date of publication, there was an unnecessary, indefinite and unexplained delay in the publication of these clinical guidelines, we believe due to unprecedented and inappropriate political interference. Delays in releasing these guidelines impacts on the ability to improve healthcare delivery and health outcomes for the transgender and non-binary population.' Signatories to the open letter, which include medical bodies, health services, rainbow community organisations, and individual practitioners are calling on the government to allow Health NZ | Te Whatu Ora to publish the updated Guidelines for Gender Affirming Healthcare in Aotearoa New Zealand immediately.
