00:00This review will look into the evidence for the use of stage one and stage two hormone
00:07treatments for children with gender dysphoria.
00:11So this would include puberty blockers as well as hormone treatments.
00:15This was a review that was announced today by the health minister here in Queensland,
00:20Tim Nicholls.
00:21It will be done by an external reviewer.
00:23We're yet to find out exactly who that person will be, but the government says it will determine
00:28the terms of reference for this review with that reviewer.
00:32The people who will be consulted for this review will include clinicians, but also people
00:37with lived experience.
00:38But the government says that while this review is underway, it will be putting a pause on
00:43any children or anyone under the age of 18 from accessing stage one and stage two hormone
00:49treatments within the public health system here in Queensland.
00:54Health Minister Tim Nicholls spoke about the Cairns Sexual Health Service in the States
00:58North today.
00:59He said there'd been an apparently unauthorised provision of paediatric gender services within
01:04this service.
01:05He said this had resulted in 17 children receiving hormone therapy that quote, may not align
01:12with the accepted Australian treatment guidelines.
01:15Now in light of this, beyond the broader review that I mentioned before, the minister also
01:20announced two other separate investigations into this service in Cairns.
01:25Here's more of what he had to say.
01:27It's critical that children and adolescents with gender dysphoria have appropriate diagnosis,
01:32care and treatment in line with guidelines and accompanied by appropriate documentation.
01:38We need to find out whether the children who have been treated in Cairns have been appropriately
01:44treated when it appears that it is otherwise.
01:47In an earlier review of the Queensland Children's Gender Service that was only conducted last
01:52year, it was estimated that about 547 children and adolescents were receiving care as of
01:59about June last year, and there were also about 491 patients who were awaiting care.
02:05So that gives you an understanding of the numbers that we're talking about here today.
02:09But as I said before, in the meantime, while this broader review is underway, the government
02:14has put a pause on any new patients under the age of 18 accessing stage one and stage
02:22two hormone therapies in the state's public health system.
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