The British Medical Association (BMA) has called for the ban on puberty blockers for under-18s questioning their gender to be lifted.
The doctors’ union also wants a pause on the implementation of the Cass review into gender care for children and young people.
The NHS stopped using puberty blockers for children in March after the review, carried out by senior paediatrician Dr Hilary Cass, found that there was not enough evidence that they were safe or effective.
Research by the University of York, carried out alongside the report, found that evidence was severely lacking on the impact of puberty blockers and hormone treatments.
But the BMA passed a motion against the Cass review and called instead for “more research to help form a solid evidence base for children’s care”.
The BMA’s chairman of council, Professor Philip Banfield, will lead a “task and finish” group that will scrutinise the Cass review’s findings. The critique will be shared with its UK council at its January 2025 meeting.
But what are puberty blockers and why has NHS stopped prescriptions?
What are puberty blockers?
Puberty blockers are used to postpone puberty in children. Gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists, which inhibit the synthesis of sex hormones like oestrogen and testosterone, are the most widely used puberty blockers.
Children who are unsure of their gender were administered them to stop physical changes such as the growth of breasts or facial hair.
Why has the NHS stopped prescriptions?
Dr Hilary Cass's review into gender care published in April 2024 found that there was not enough evidence to support the safety or effectiveness of puberty blockers. Her report followed a dramatic increase in referrals to the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust's Gender Identity Development Service, which went from receiving 250 referrals year to over 5,000 in 2022.
Maria Caulfield, then the Conservative health minister, said in March: "Ending the routine prescription of puberty blockers will help ensure that care is based on evidence, expert clinical opinion and is in the best interests of the child."
NHS England has not yet decided who can participate in its study on the use of puberty blockers, although it plans to start it by December 2024.
