A new gender clinic offering multi-disciplinary services to transgender individuals will be opening on Monday, Health Minister Chris Fearne said.

The gender clinic will be located in Mtarfa, and will serve as a focal point for health services for transgender, inter-sex and queer people, a spokeswoman for the Health Ministry said.

When the initiative was announced in a public consultation, Mr Fearne said transgender people require a gender clinic since they have additional specific needs such as hormone therapy and gender affirmation care.

"All persons seeking to benefit from publicly-funded hormone treatment, counseling and surgical procedures will be referred to a multi-disciplinary team to ensure competent and specialised assessment and support throughout the gender affirming transition and beyond," the public consultation document had stated.

Mr Fearne was speaking during the parliamentary debate on the budget for the Health Ministry. Insisting there was still a lot of work to be done, particularly at Mount Carmel, Mr Fearne said some €600 million would be spent on health care this year.

Mr Fearne also said the government would be embarking on a project to provide mental health assistance to youth. A call for expressions of interest will be issued for NGOs who would like to provide mental health therapy to adolescents. Read more via Times of Malta