England: National Health Service to stop most puberty blocking treatments for minors, cites insufficient evidence that it’s best course

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – England’s National Health Service (NHS) announced Friday that, following a review of its current gender incongruence services for children and young people, puberty blockers will no longer be routinely available to minors, but will only be dispensed as part of clinical research, BBC News reports.

The move was made in light of an interim report on the current services which found there is insufficient evidence to support puberty blocking as the best way to help minors facing gender incongruence and dysphoria.

Explaining its decision in a press release, NHS England said: “Scarce and inconclusive international evidence to support clinical decision making” has led to “a lack of clinical consensus and polarized opinion on what the best model of care for children and young people experiencing gender incongruence and dysphoria should be; and a lack of evidence to support families in making informed decisions about interventions that may have life-long consequences.”

An NHS spokesperson added: “The NHS is now engaging on the proposal that puberty blockers will not be made routinely available outside of research. We will develop a study into the impact of puberty blockers on gender dysphoria in children and young people with early-onset gender dysphoria, which aims to be up and running in 2024.”

The NHS said its new service for minors experiencing gender incongruence will take a “holistic” approach, focusing on the needs of each child individually with “careful therapeutic exploration.”

The current waiting list for puberty blocking treatment is around three and a half years long, BBC News reports. There are 7,000 minors awaiting treatment.

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