A private hormone clinic that caters to young people has been the first of its kind to earn CQC approval. (Getty)
The Gender Plus Hormone Clinic, a private clinic for transgender youth, is the first of its kind in the UK to be approved by England’s health watchdog.
With the approval of the Care Quality Commission (CQC), The Gender Plus Hormone Clinic may now prescribe hormones to patients aged over 16.
Announcing their CQC approval on their website, The Gender Plus Hormone Clinic confirmed that hormone prescriptions will be available to transgender and non-binary patients aged 16 and older, in line with the current national and international guidelines.
Those guidelines ensure that patients may only be prescribed hormones once they are assessed by clinical psychologists across three to six sessions.
A statement on the clinic’s website reads: “Regulation by the CQC ensures health and social care services in England are safe, effective and well-led, providing compassionate, high-quality care.
“The Hormone Clinic is the only English independent gender child care prescribing service to be regulated by the CQC.”
As well as offering prescriptions and overseeing hormone treatment, the clinic will also have staff on hand to answer any hormone-related questions and provide support and medical input throughout the process that accounts for a patient’s gender, sexual orientation, mental health, and neurodiversity.