Medical experts found an ‘unacceptable safety risk’ in the continued prescription of puberty blockers to children
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has decided to enforce an ‘indefinite’ ban on the sale and supply of puberty blockers via private prescriptions for the treatment of gender incongruence and/or gender dysphoria in under-18s in the UK.
This decision follows official advice from the Commission on Human Medicines (CHM), which found an “unacceptable safety risk” in the continued prescription of puberty blockers to children.
The CHM, tasked by the health secretary and Northern Ireland Minister for Health to evaluate the safety of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonists for puberty suppression, issued eight recommendations.
It advised that a statutory indefinite ban be placed on the use of puberty blockers until its three recommended structures are in place to support safe UK prescribing.
Legislation to make this order indefinite will be updated today and will be reviewed in 2027.
The NHS stopped the routine prescription of puberty blocker treatments to under 18s in March 2024, following the Cass Review into gender identity services.
In May 2024, a temporary ban was introduced after the Cass Review concluded that there was insufficient evidence to prove the safety of these treatments.
Health secretary Wes Streeting justified the decision, stating, “Children’s healthcare must always be evidence-led.
“We need to act with caution and care when it comes to this vulnerable group of young people, and follow the expert advice.”
He also announced plans to work with NHS England to launch new gender identity services, providing holistic health and wellbeing support Read More……
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