Children who have gender dysphoria will no longer be given puberty blockers, NHS England has said, ahead of a radical change in how it cares for them.
There is not enough evidence about either how safe they are to take or whether they are clinically effective to justify prescribing them to children and young people who are transitioning, it added.
The government welcomed NHS England’s “landmark decision”, which it said was “in the best interests of children”.
A spokesperson said: “NHS England has carefully considered the evidence review conducted by NICE and further published evidence available to date.
“We have concluded that there is not enough evidence to support the safety or clinical effectiveness of puberty suppressing hormones to make the treatment routinely available at this time.”
Puberty blockers arrest the physical changes in a child’s body that puberty brings, such as the development of breasts or facial hair. The NHS’s decision means that the new regional services caring for under-18s with gender dysphoria, which open next month, will not use them as part of the treatment.
From now on, children and young people will only be able to get them if they are taking part in a clinical trial. At least one such trial is due to start later this year, but no details, such as who will be eligible to join it, have been published.
The change is not radical. What it stops, the unthinking ‘affirmative care’ model, is what’s radical…