The peak body for Australia’s physicians has called on the health ministerto develop a national framework to ensure transgender children and adolescents have greater and consistent access to treatment, while saying a national inquiry into the topic would “further harm vulnerable patients and their families”.

Greg Hunt asked the Royal Australian College of Physicians (RACP) to assess the matter in August last year after receiving complaints about healthcare for trans children from a group that included former deputy president of Fred Nile’s Christian Democratic Party Dr John Whitehall and psychology professor Dianna Kenny, both vocal opponents of trans healthcare for adolescents.

The group’s concerns centre around the Melbourne Royal Children’s Hospital guidelines for treatment, which include gender affirmation, puberty blockers and hormone therapy for those under 18.

In a letter to Hunt on Thursday, released publicly on Friday, president Mark Lane said the RACP had consulted with experts including paediatricians, endocrinologists, researchers and bioethics experts.

While Lane said it was still an emerging area of healthcare with limited research, the RACP supported the principles of the guidelines developed by the Royal Children’s Hospital.

“Withholding or limiting access to care and treatment would be unethical and would have serious impacts on the health and wellbeing of young people,” he said.

“The population under consideration is an extremely vulnerable group who need the support of clinicians, the health system, their families, friends and wider support networks.”

Lane said a public inquiry would “not increase the scientific evidence available regarding gender dysphoria but would further harm vulnerable patients and their families through increased media and public attention”.

Instead of a national inquiry the RACP has called for Australian governments to improve access to care across the states and territories, possibly through a national framework, as well as funding for research on the long-term outcomes for care and treatment of gender dysphoria.

The RACP has also requested the Australian government develop an evidence-based fact sheet aligned to guidelines to be provided to patients and their families to support informed consent.

Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne broke its silence on the issue, with chair Rob Knowles and CEO John Stanway applauding the RACP’s stance validating the work of associate professor Michelle Telfer.

“We have maintained a position of respectful and dignified silence on this issue, even though it has been played out publicly and sensationally. We believe that to engage in the debate gives it a validation it does not deserve and further hurts our patients, their families and the broader trans and gender diverse community,” they said.

The pair took aim at “inflammatory media reports” and the campaign waged against the RCH stating it had been “targeted, personal, inflammatory and unprecedented”.

“We now see, with today’s statement from the RACP, that it was unwarranted. We restate our earlier public support of the RCH Gender Service and we maintain our commitment to delivering great care to our patients, to transparency, continuous quality improvement and our pursuit of clinical excellence.”

Earlier this month, a Queensland parliamentary committee recommended legislation to ban conversion therapy in the state be refined after a number of Christian groups and feminist groups made submissions to the inquiry objecting to the inclusion of a ban on therapy seeking to suppress gender identity in the legislation.