Protocol › Current status NL · Last reviewed 2026-05-16
Current status in the Netherlands
Summary
In the Netherlands, adolescent gender care continues to be provided under the Quality Standard Transgender Care of 2018, mainly at Amsterdam UMC and UMCG Groningen. A multi-year national evaluation programme, funded by ZonMw, is under way. Waiting times have grown substantially since 2015, prompting several reports on capacity and quality.
1. Legal and guideline framework
- Quality Standard Transgender Care Somatic (2018, revised 2023), adopted by the Federation of Medical Specialists.1
- WGBO as general framework for treatment agreement and informed consent.
- Health Insurance Act regulates reimbursement via the basic package upon referral.
2. Centres involved
| Centre | Target group | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Amsterdam UMC, location VUmc — Knowledge and Care Centre for Gender Dysphoria | Adults + minors | Original centre |
| UMCG Groningen — Gender Team | Adults + minors | Expanded since 2016 |
| Radboudumc, LUMC, Erasmus MC | Adults | Partial care |
| Gender Team Zuid-Nederland (Den Bosch) | Adults | Independent clinic |
3. Waiting times
The waiting time for a first appointment at Amsterdam UMC for minors exceeded two years in 2024. In the Senate debate of December 2023, the Minister of Health stated that current capacity does not meet demand.2
4. ZonMw evaluation
ZonMw announced a multi-year evaluation of transgender care in the Netherlands in 2022. The programme covers research into long-term effects, quality of care, organisation and patient experiences. First interim reports are expected in 2026.3
5. Relation to international revisions
Although various countries (Sweden, Finland, UK, Norway) have substantially adjusted their practice since 2020, the Netherlands has so far maintained the original approach. Amsterdam UMC published a response in 2024 defending current Dutch practice; see /debate/response-vumc-amsterdam-umc/.
6. Public commentary
Outside the official channels, publicly available commentary on the Quality Standard and current practice appears in the Netherlands. One example is the Substack publication Genderzorgen (April 2026), which argues that the Dutch guidelines rest on a causal assumption — that treatment reduces mental health complaints — which, according to the authors, has not been prospectively tested. The authors refer, among others, to the Finnish register study of Ruuska et al. (2026) and to critical statements by psychologist Dorine Sellenraad (former VUmc).4 A more extensive discussion appears at /debate/scientific-criticism/.
See also
- Response VUmc / Amsterdam UMC
- Scientific criticism
- Dutch guidelines
- People register — Cohen-Kettenis, de Vries, Sellenraad.
- International comparison — the Netherlands alongside other countries in table.
- Timeline — Dutch milestones.
- FAQ · Glossary · For parents.
Footnotes
- Federation of Medical Specialists. Quality Standard Transgender Care — Somatic. 2018 (revised 2023) (translation by editors).
- Parliamentary Papers II 2023/24, 31 016, no. 392 (translation by editors).
- ZonMw. Research programme transgender care 2022–2027. The Hague: ZonMw; 2022 (translation by editors).
- Genderzorgen. Transgender care under scrutiny: an untested assumption as treatment protocol. Substack, 10 April 2026 (translation by editors). https://genderzorgen.substack.com/p/transgenderzorg-onder-de-loep