Puberty Blockers for Children to Be Banned Indefinitely

Health Secretary Wes Streeting speaking to the media during a visit to London Ambulance Service headquarters in south London, on Dec. 9, 2024. Ben Whitley/PA Wire

A ban on the sale and supply of puberty blockers to gender-confused children will be made indefinite, the government has confirmed.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) cited advice published by the Commission on Human Medicines (CHM) that there is “currently an unacceptable safety risk in the continued prescription of puberty blockers to children” when it announced its decision on Wednesday.

It follows a move by the previous government to pass temporary emergency legislation in May which banned the private prescription of puberty-suppressing hormones for children with gender dysphoria, following the NHS ending the prescription of puberty blockers and after the Cass Review determined there was insufficient evidence that they were safe.

James Palmer, NHS medical director for Specialised Services, welcomed the government’s decision to further ban access through private prescribers, saying it “closes a loophole that posed a risk to the safety of children and young people.”

“Evidence reviews by NICE and NHS England, supported by Dr [Hilary] Cass, clearly showed there is not enough evidence to support the safety or clinical effectiveness of puberty suppressing hormones for the treatment of gender dysphoria or incongruence, which is why the NHS decided that they would no longer be routinely offered to children and young people,” Palmer said.

Unacceptable Safety Risk

Health Secretary Wes Streeting said that the independent experts from the CHM “found that the current prescribing and care pathway for gender dysphoria and incongruence presents an unacceptable safety risk for children and young people.”

The minister continued: “Dr Cass’ review also raised safety concerns around the lack of evidence for these medical treatments. We need to act with caution and care when it comes to this vulnerable group of young people, and follow the expert advice.”

“Children’s healthcare must always be evidence-led,” he said.

Streeting added that the government was working with NHS England to open new gender identity services, “so people can access holistic health and wellbeing support they need.”

The minister also announced that his department was setting up a clinical trial into the use of puberty blockers in 2025, “to establish a clear evidence base for the use of this medicine.”

To date, the NHS has opened three out of eight new gender identity services for children and young people in London, the northwest, and Bristol. These clinics are meant to offer a “holistic” approach to supporting gender-confused youngsters.

Tavistock Clinic

The new clinics were opened following the closure of the disgraced Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS), which had been run out of the London Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust.

GIDS had favoured a so-called “gender affirming” approach to care, including prescribing puberty blockers to young children.

Cass said she supported the government’s decision to continue restrictions, calling puberty blockers “powerful drugs with unproven benefits and significant risks.”

Retired consultant paediatrician Dr. Hilary Cass speaking about the publication of the Independent Review of Gender Identity Services for Children and Young People (The Cass Review) in west London, on April 9, 2024. Yui Mok/PA Wire

In a post on social media platform X, Transgender Trend, which calls for evidence-based care for gender-confused children, thanked Streeting “for all the careful work and evidence gathering to reach the right decision.”

Sex Matters likewise welcomed the news and wrote on X, “The health secretary now needs to ensure that private gender clinics are kept under close scrutiny.”

However, the group added its concern relating to the proposed clinical tests, saying the minister should “listen to the concerns of campaigners who say that no NHS trial of puberty blockers can possibly reach the required ethical standard.”

The ban will take affect across the whole of the UK, with the government saying the decision was made in concert with the devolved governments of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. The decision will be reviewed in 2027.

It will continue restrictions on the dispensing of puberty-suppressing drugs by private UK-registered prescribers and from those registered in the European Economic Area or Switzerland.

However, those already receiving puberty blockers on the NHS for gender dysphoria will still be able to access them, as well as patients taking them for other uses.