A former nurse told Sky News she felt “completely wrong” to hear doctors at her gender identity clinic agreed to send her children to a hormone clinic after four assessments.

Sue Evans, who worked at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust’s gender identity development service in north-west London, which has since closed, said she was dismayed by the decision. “Shocked” by the speed of the decision.

Her speech comes as a long-awaited report says Children fail at gender servicesand NHS As a result, first appointments at adult clinics for under-18s are now suspended in England.

Children are being let down by a lack of research and evidence on gender-sensitive medical interventions, reports Dr Hilary Kass.

Ms Evans referred to her experience at the Tavistock Trust and said there were “all sorts of things” that could be done before hormones were prescribed.

“I was very surprised because I was at a clinical meeting and I heard a doctor say that after four evaluations, they were going to send the child to a hormone clinic,” she said.

“I was shocked and it felt completely wrong. I had heard during our meeting that this child’s background was complex.”

She added that some adults believe taking hormones is the right thing to do, but there is no way to differentiate between children who “will regret the decision” and those who may not.

“You can’t make an accurate assessment,” she said.

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Ms Evans said it was a “medical scandal” and that “several institutions have allowed political ideology to influence ordinary, good medical clinical care and the protection of children”.

“The difficulty is that a lot of the kids I meet are reading online… it’s like a rhetoric: ‘If you feel this way, here’s the answer, you must be trans, and if you don’t understand you might Treatment of Suicide.”

“[This] I think both kids and parents are scared of it. “

She added: “Every other area I’ve worked in, in mental health – eating disorders, OCD – you’re not just addressing the symptoms.

“You don’t shove food down an anorexic’s throat or stop people from cleaning. You try to understand it.”

Lauren Stoner, CEO transgender Youth support charity Mermaid said it was “difficult to show” that ideology played a role in treatment.

The group called on the NHS to “resist pressure from those seeking to restrict access to healthcare” and instead “act urgently to provide timely, supportive and comprehensive gender services”.

Two new regional centers for child gender care opened earlier this month, following the closure of gender identity development services at Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust.

Dr Kass said teenagers were “falling off the edge” by the age of 17 and warned that ideology was guiding care.

She added: “I think the ideologies on all sides really guided care rather than the normal principles of pediatrics and mental health guiding care.”

“I mean, professionals are certainly afraid to do what they would normally do in other counseling sessions with young people, and that’s not right.”

She said the “toxicity of the debate” didn’t help either, as people were afraid to discuss trans issues openly.

Dr. Cass recommended “extreme caution” and “providing clear clinical justification for hormones at this stage rather than waiting until the individual reaches 18 years of age.”

Among the 32 recommendations, “follow-up services” should be provided for people aged 17-25 years, either through regional centers expanding the age range of patients or through “linked services.”

The Tavistock Trust has been contacted for comment.

Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can contact Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the United States, call your local Samaritans chapter or 1 (800) 273-TALK