NHS England has confirmed that it will stop prescribing puberty blockers to children at gender identity clinics.

Puberty blockers have been prescribed to trans young people since 1988, as well as being commonly used to treat early puberty in cisgender children and a range of health conditions in adults. According to trans youth charity Mermaids, puberty blockers are an “internationally recognised safe, reversible healthcare option which has been recommended by medical authorities in the UK and internationally for decades”. 

Puberty blockers can relieve symptoms of gender dysphoria, and several studies have found that – along with other forms of gender-affirming care – they have a positive effect on mental health. A 2020 study found that trans adults who had been prescribed puberty blockers were less likely to have considered suicide. In contrast, a separate study found that symptoms of anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts increased if trans kids were forced to proceed with puberty according to their assigned sex.

Thanks to long waiting lists at gender identity clinics, many trans young people have already been denied access to the treatment; this situation – amounting to a kind of de facto ban – has now been formalised in official guidance. This is a major step backwards for the rights of young trans people in Britain, which comes amid a climate of intense transphobia at the highest level of politics. The decision follows a publication consultation and an independent review commissioned by the NHS, responding to an increase in referrals to the Tavistock Gender Identity Clinic in London. 

Young trans people will still be able to access the treatment at private clinics, or as part of new clinical trials (the details of which are yet to be announced), while those who are currently taking puberty blockers will be able to continue. 

Reacting to the announcement, a spokesperson for Mermaids said: “This announcement is deeply disappointing, and a further restriction of support offered to trans children and young people through the NHS, which is failing trans youth.”