NHS England opens call for evidence on detransition
Last week, NHS England announced that it is inviting healthcare professionals and professional bodies to share their experience surrounding detransition. Open from 30 October to 28 December 2025, the consultation seeks input on current practice, service organization and delivery, and research gaps to be addressed. The consultation is not limited to the UK professionals; any professional or organization with relevant experience can submit feedback.
This call for professional feedback on detransition is a new phase in the NHS implementation of the Cass Review. Published in April last year, the Cass Review, supported by a rigorous research program, provided 32 recommendations, including the recommendation that “NHS England should ensure there is provision for people considering detransition, recognising that they may not wish to reengage with the services whose care they were previously under.”
A few months later, in August 2024, NHS England published the steps it would take to put the Cass Review’s recommendations into practice. Step 8 outlined a program to explore the issue of detransition, examining how often detransition occurs and why; identifying what kinds of support and clinical interventions might be needed; and considering who should provide that care, recognizing that some patients might prefer to seek help outside the services where they were originally treated.
In April 2025, NHS England invited people who have detransitioned to share their experiences, acknowledging the limited evidence, lack of UK professional guidance, and practical barriers to accessing appropriate care. Last week's announcement of the national consultation with healthcare professionals and professional bodies is the next step in this work.
After the consultation period ends, NHS England will review all submissions and produce a summary report bringing together the main evidence, insights, and recommendations. This report will be used to shape the outline of a new standardized approach for how the NHS will organize and deliver care for patients who wish to detransition. The draft pathway will then be tested and refined through further discussions with professional stakeholders. A broader public consultation is planned for 2025/26, during which patients, clinicians, and members of the public are expected to be invited to comment, although the exact details of this process have not yet been released.
SEGM Take-Away
Detransitioners report a range of needs, including mental health support, medical management (e.g., stopping or reversing hormones), possible surgical revisions, discussion of fertility options, care coordination, and legal assistance. While current studies on detransition have significant limitations their findings align with those of the Cass Review, indicating that some patients do not wish to return to the medical providers and clinics where they first sought assistance.
NHS England’s call for more evidence highlights the general degree of uncertainty in this field surrounding even some of the most basic aspects of detransition, such as numbers and frequency. In our recently released Digest Issue 3 we review a study that, in our view, underscores the complexity involved in even trying to categorize this population.
We welcome NHS England’s continued efforts to better understand the needs of detransitioners. A similar trend appears to be underway in the United States, where the National Institutes of Health has been directed to conduct research on detransition and transgender regret, highlighting greater interest in this emerging patient cohort.