Children to no longer be prescribed puberty blockers, NHS England confirms

Children will no longer be prescribed puberty blockers at gender identity clinics, NHS England has confirmed.

Puberty blockers, which pause the physical changes of puberty such as breast development or facial hair, will now only be available to children as part of clinical research trials.

The government said it welcomed the "landmark decision", adding it would help ensure care is based on evidence and is in the "best interests of the child".

It follows a public consultation on the issue and an interim policy, and comes after NHS England commissioned an independent review of gender identity services for children under 18 in 2020.

The review followed a sharp rise in referrals to the Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS) - a specialised service for young people who experience difficulties in development of their gender identity - run by the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust, which is closing at the end of March.

In 2021-22, there were over 5,000 referrals to GIDS, compared to just under 250 a decade earlier.

The clinic has faced repeated scrutiny.

Dr Hilary Cass, who led the review, published an interim report in February 2022 saying there was a need to move away from one unit and recommended regional options be available to better support children.

She also said there was a lack of long-term evidence on what happens to young people prescribed blockers - adding that GIDS had not gathered routine and consistent data meaning it was "not possible to accurately track the outcomes and pathways that children and young people take through the service".

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After Tavistock closes, two new NHS services will open in early April, situated in Great Ormond Street Hospital, London, and Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool.

The NHS said children attending these clinics will be supported by experts in neurodiversity, paediatrics and mental health, "resulting in a holistic approach to care".

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