Mr Yousaf also said that “all aspects” of the recent review by Dr Hilary Cass, external into NHS England’s gender identity services for under-18s would be considered by the Scottish government.
The review was released last week and found the evidence base for medical interventions in gender care for young people had been “remarkably weak” and that children had been let down by a “toxic” public discourse around gender.
Mr Yousaf did not rule out halting the routine prescription of puberty blockers – a move the NHS in England has already made after the Cass review stated there was “not enough evidence” for them.
He said: “Every recommendation that Dr Cass makes will be considered as part of that consideration of the entire report including the recommendations that she makes in relation to puberty blockers, and that is one element of the recommendations that Dr Cass makes.
“There’s a number of recommendations – all of them will be given consideration.”
However, the first minister said that the prescription of treatments should be one made by clinicians rather than politicians.
The Scottish government has come under pressure to scrap the use of puberty blockers, with SNP MP Joanna Cherry, Alba Party MSP Ash Regan and Scottish Conservative deputy leader Meghan Gallacher calling for a review.
Dr Cass said last week that “we don’t have good evidence” that puberty blockers are safe to use to “arrest puberty”, adding that what started out as a clinical trial had been expanded to a wider group of young people before the results of that trial were available.
She said: “It is unusual for us to give a potentially life-changing treatment to young people and not know what happens to them in adulthood, and that’s been a particular problem that we haven’t had the follow-up into adulthood to know what the results of this are.”
The Tavistock Clinic in London – which offered gender services – was closed this year, but the first minister said Scotland’s hub at the Sandyford Clinic in Glasgow would not suffer the same fate.
He said: “Sandyford provides, we know, some exceptional health care to some of those who are the most marginalised and vulnerable. Not just young people, but right across the spectrum.”
He added that the Scottish government would look into the possibility of opening more regional hubs and said that ministers “won’t be taking an inordinate amount of time to consider” the Cass review’s findings.
The Scottish Conservatives said the first minister was “stalling for time and passing the buck to clinicians”.
The party’s deputy leader Meghan Gallacher said: “It’s not good enough to say he and health boards need more time to look at Dr Cass’s report, and it’s an abdication of leadership not to pause the prescribing of puberty blockers in the interim.”
