England halts puberty blockers for youth, turning point in gender healthcare policy

England’s National Health Service (NHS) announces that gender identity doctors will no longer prescribe puberty blockers to young people under 18

In England, officials announced on Tuesday that gender identity doctors will no longer prescribe puberty blockers to young people. This action, which affects patients under the age of 18 getting care from the National Health Service (NHS), is a significant change in healthcare regulations.

There will be no more use of puberty blockers in the treatment plan. These drugs briefly stop the physical signs of puberty, like breast growth or face hair growth. The choice comes at a time when referrals are significantly rising, from just under 250 a decade ago to over 5,000 between 2021 and 2022.

The government agreed with the decision. Junior health minister Maria Caulfield stressed how important it is to base care on facts and the professional view of experts in what is best for the child.

This conclusion comes after a thorough public engagement on the subject and an independent study that was started in 2020 by the NHS in England. Hilary Cass headed the evaluation, whose initial results were released in February 2022. They showed that there was a lack of long-term data about the effects of puberty-blocking medicine provided by the Gender Identity Development Service (Gids) clinic to children and adolescents.

Gids, which was supposed to close at the end of March, was criticized for not collecting data regularly, which made it harder to keep track of the results and paths of children and teens who were getting care.

The NHS has said that two new centers will open in April at the well-known Great Ormond Street Hospital in London and at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in the northwest of Liverpool. The centers will offer full support and be run by experts in neurodiversity, pediatrics, and mental health, making sure that people in need get care that takes into account all of their needs.

Source: AFP