HEALTH

NHS bans puberty blockers for children

Gender identity clinics are to be prevented from giving drugs that halt the physical changes of puberty, following an independent review of the practice
Eleanor Hayward
, Health Editor |
Lucy Bannerman
|
Charlotte Alt
The Times
The Gender Identity Development Service at the Tavistock Centre, the UK’s only such clinic for children and young people, is due to close at the end of the month
The Gender Identity Development Service at the Tavistock Centre, the UK’s only such clinic for children and young people, is due to close at the end of the month
GUY SMALLMAN/GETTY IMAGES
Eleanor Hayward
, Health Editor |
Lucy Bannerman
|
Charlotte Alt
The Times

Children who want to change gender will no longer be prescribed puberty blockers on the NHS.

Landmark guidelines issued on Tuesday said there is not enough evidence that the drugs are safe and from now on they should only be given as part of clinical trials.

Puberty blockers suppress the release of sex hormones that cause physical changes such as breast development or the growth of facial hair. They have been prescribed to hundreds of under-16s on the NHS since 2011 at the gender identity clinic run by the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust in north London.

A review of the Tavistock clinic in 2022 by Dr Hilary Cass warned that puberty blockers may “permanently disrupt” brain development and “lock in” children to an