NHS bans routine use of puberty blockers for gender dysphoria amid safety concerns

NHS England has banned the “routine” prescription of puberty blockers for children and young people with gender dysphoria, claiming there is insufficient evidence of their safety.
The decision, announced this week, has already been criticised by clinicians in Australia who specialise in transgender care.
From 1 April, publicly funded gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists (GnRHa) for puberty suppression will only be available in research settings or if a patient’s clinician makes a special request and can prove the treatment is appropriate.
NHS England said it made the policy decision after concluding there was “not enough evidence to support the safety or clinical effectiveness of [puberty blockers] to make the treatment routinely available at this time”.