Decision by the health watchdog to register the clinic – which treats those aged 16 and older – is being challenged in court
06:56, 24 Jun 2025Updated 06:57, 24 Jun 2025
The case was due to be heard at the High Court.(Image: SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
A decision by the health watchdog to register a Birmingham private gender clinic to provide treatment for young people was set to be challenged at the High Court today, Tuesday, June 24.
Susan Evans is taking legal action against the Care Quality Commission (CQC) over its decision to register the Gender Plus Hormone Clinic, run by Gender Plus Healthcare Limited, in January last year.
The clinic, which was rated outstanding by the CQC last December, treats people aged 16 and older, including through prescribing gender-affirming – masculinising or feminising – hormones.
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It does not prescribe puberty blockers, in line with a ban brought in last year, preventing the prescription of the medication from European or private prescribers and restricting NHS provision to within clinical trials.
On a fundraising page for her legal challenge, Ms Evans said she wanted the High Court to “set aside” the registration, as it “creates a significant risk of a two-tier approach, with less protection for those who seek help from the private sector”.
She said she hoped the legal action would “prevent the registration of other private clinics” providing the treatment.
The CQC is defending the claim, which is due to be heard by Mrs Justice Eady over two days at the Royal Courts of Justice in London.
A spokesperson for the regulator said: “Any service wanting to carry out regulated activities, which are defined in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014, is required to register to do so with CQC.
“Gender Plus HealthCare Ltd was registered by CQC to carry on regulated activity on January 9 2024.
“The registration was granted subject to the condition that the regulated activity must not be delivered to service users under the age of 16.
“We are not able to comment further due to active legal proceedings.”
Gender Plus was set up by Dr Aidan Kelly and is led by nurse consultant Paul Carruthers, who both worked at the now-closed Gender Identity Development Service (Gids) run by the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust.
The service previously said patients were primarily aged between 16 and 25, and that while the clinic operates out of Birmingham, patients could also have appointments in London and Leeds.
In its inspection report in December, the CQC said the clinic “used medicines in line with national guidance and the Cass Review”.
The service does not prescribe puberty blockers, which are also not prescribed on the NHS to children for the treatment of gender dysphoria after a ban last year was made permanent in December with the agreement of devolved governments across the UK.
There are plans in place to set up a clinical trial into the use of puberty blockers this year, subject to ethical and regulatory approval.
Meanwhile, the NHS has previously said it plans to open up to eight specialist children’s gender clinics covering the seven NHS regions in England by the end of 2026.
Two hubs, led by London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital (Gosh) and Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool, opened in April 2024, following the closure of Gids.
A third service has since opened in Bristol, with a fourth expected to open in the east of England in the coming months.
The latest figures for the number of children awaiting NHS gender care in England and Wales, released in May, showed that more than 6,200 were on the national waiting list at the end of March, up from 5,560 at the same point a year earlier.
The data also showed that 157 of those waiting for treatment were aged under 10.
Waiting times for a first appointment have also risen, to an average of 116 weeks at the end of March from an average of 100 weeks at the end of May last year.