![](https://shtf.tv/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/728x90-1.gif)
MPs say the move was in youngsters’ ‘best interests’ as Liz Truss calls for the new rule to also be extended to private practices
Children will be banned from receiving puberty blockers on prescription under NHS rules that come into effect immediately.
Under-18s will now only be able to take the controversial drugs as part of a clinical trial set to start at the end of this year.
Ministers said the “landmark decision” was in children’s “best interests” and would help to ensure youngsters who feel their gender is not the same as their sex are being treated using medical evidence.
The proposals to stop the practice were first accepted by NHS England in July 2022 following recommendations made by a review led by Dr Hilary Cass, the former president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health.
She warned that the drugs may permanently disrupt the brain maturation of adolescents, potentially rewiring neural circuits in a way that cannot be reversed, and said there was a lack of long-term evidence and data collection on their safety and effectiveness.
The blockers pause the physical changes of puberty such as breast development or facial hair.
Experts have said the “affirmative” approach by the controversial Tavistock clinic, and subsequent referrals for the prescribing of blockers, was sending children on an “irreversible” path without exploring mental health conditions.
‘Not enough evidence to support clinical effectiveness’
Maya Forstater, executive director of women’s rights group Sex Matters, said it was “a momentous development in the course correction of NHS England’s approach to treating childhood gender distress”.
“Many have been calling on the NHS for years now to return to an evidence-based approach,” she said.
“The significance of NHS England’s statement that there is not enough evidence to support the safety or clinical effectiveness of puberty blockers cannot be overstated.”
The Tavistock’s Gender and Identity Development Service (Gids) is no longer accepting patients after being shut down by the NHS, with new regional hubs set to open next month, following a year of delays.
The announcement comes following the culmination of a public consultation on the policy, which was published on Tuesday confirming the decision.
The NHS said: “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.”
Liz Truss, the former prime minister, said the ban should be extended to private practices as well and called on MPs to back her amendment to the Health and Equality Acts Bill to make their prescription to children illegal.
“I welcome NHS England’s decision to end the routine prescription of puberty blockers to children for gender dysphoria,” she said. “I urge the Government to back my Bill on Friday which will reinforce this in law and also prevent these drugs being supplied privately.”