Results of a review into the scandal where 22 children were given gender-affirming treatment at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital without the mandated psychiatrist ­assessment will be kept secret.

SA Health says due to ­patient confidentiality, any ­review documentation cannot be made public. Recommendations – if any – to prevent it happening again are unknown, although extra psychiatric staff have been provided.

In April 2025, it was revealed 22 children – as young as 11 – were prescribed the treatment over 2023 and 2024 without first seeing a psychiatrist as ­required by SA Health guidelines.

Women’s and Children’s Health Network chief executive Rebecca Graham publicly apologised and said, in each case, psychiatrists later endorsed the original diagnosis.

Concerned families were later advised the “review is entirely internal and will not have public hearings or disclosures.”

A statement from SA Health to the Sunday Mail says the children received their initial mental health assessment from a senior mental health clinician instead of a psychiatrist but “treatment was always ­appropriate”.

“Overall, 22 patients were identified and offered an assessment by a psychiatrist, with one family declining because they felt it was not needed,” it states. “For each of the 21 cases reviewed, a psychiatrist confirmed the patient had the correct diagnosis and no harm was identified.”

Meanwhile, there are conflicting reports on whether SA Health is reviewing its Gender Diversity Model of Care.

The federal government has ordered the National Health and Medical Research Council to develop new national guidelines for the care of people under 18 with gender dysphoria.

In light of this, one parent sought information from SA Health on the local model of care. A response from senior SA Health clinician Dr Kimberly Humphrey, on behalf of chief public health officer Professor Nicola Spurrier, states: “In South Australia, the Gender Model of Care is currently being reviewed in parallel with this national work, ensuring local guidance reflects the most up-to-date evidence as it becomes available.”

However, when questioned by the Sunday Mail on the review’s terms of reference, who was running it, its timeline and whether the public could contribute, SA Health said: “SA Health is not reviewing the current Gender Diversity Model of Care.

“There are currently three national and international reviews being conducted in this field, and once these are complete, the SA Gender Diversity Model of Care will be reassessed and updated as appropriate.”

Women’s Forum Australia head of advocacy Stephanie Bastiaan told the Sunday Mail the results of the WCH review should be made public and that the Gender Diversity Model of Care needed an overhaul.

“They should review it,” she said, noting SA MLC Cory Bernardi had introduced legislation that would ban the prescription of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to children under 18 for the treatment of gender dysphoria.

“Women’s Forum Australia has been calling for an independent inquiry into South Australia’s treatment of children experiencing gender distress since the issue was raised by Frank Pangallo in parliament in 2023,” Ms Bastiaan said. “What has happened at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital only makes the need for a public inquiry more urgent.

“South Australian parents and the public are entitled to know how 22 children came to receive gender-related medical treatment without the psychiatric assessment required under South Australia’s own model of care. This isn’t a matter of disclosing individual patient records, it is a matter of addressing systemic failure.

“We need to know how these ‘safeguards’ failed, who was held ­accountable and what measures have been put in place to ensure it cannot happen again.”

Ms Bastiaan noted other jurisdictions were adopting more cautious approaches on “serious medical interventions with potentially lifelong consequences for children”.

“My concern is SA Health hiding behind patient confidentiality to avoid public accountability,” she said. “One or two cases are serious enough, but 22 children receiving medical treatment without the psychiatric assessment … points to a significant systemic failure that demands answers.”

SA Health estimates up to 2172 children aged six to 17 are seeking medical therapies for gender dysphoria. The Advertiser this month reported plans for a gender affirmation surgery unit at Flinders Medical Centre had been shelved.

SA Rainbow Alliance CEO Varo Lee noted SA Health figures showed around 400 patients had expressed interest in the surgery, adding: “Our ­communities have been left in a Kafkaesque bureaucratic nightmare, receiving official letters to attend appointments and being placed on waitlists for services that SA Health now claims don’t exist.”