I don't think the NHS should be found culpable in this case.
This is not the same as a child effectively being give positive affirmation, then put on irreversible puberty blockers.
My understanding is this man was an adult at the time he made this decision.
Adults are allowed to make medical decisions that may not be in their best interests in terms of quality of life, for e.g. refusing chemo choosing another treatment option that is less harsh but also less effective. Taking an off label drug etc.
The thing is the NHS may - I don't know - have been offering such treatment for decades to Trans individuals without blowback, but they were a different cohort. Not this new SM influenced cohort.
Should they now be forced to pay out after an adult made the decision to go ahead with a surgery that they very likely had explained to them beforehand?
In my thirties I went for a straightforward hernia operation. The Consult suggested a mesh be inserted. I went and researched and then requested a mesh-free operation, as I had seen some people complaining about the troubles they experienced with the mesh folding or cutting into them. I didn't want those perfectly within a tolerable 2% risks. Nope.
The consult was annoyed and the surgeon wasn't happy and grimly kept saying, you'll be back here in 3 years because the hernia will come out again! It was clear he thought he was wasting his time.
But I chose what I chose.
I fail to believe in the age of internet that a surgery this complicated couldn't have been researched and wouldn't have been explained several times over.
The websites that are grooming such vulnerable people are the ones that should be sued. The web page hosts, the people encouraging them in forums.