THE NHS will set up six new clinics and start a clinical trial of puberty blockers next year in an overhaul of child gender services. It comes after prescriptions of the controversial drugs to new patients were banned in May due to safety concerns. Health chiefs have laid out plans to overhaul the controversial service for children and teenagers who think they are transgender.
They have vowed to “take a more cautious approach”. But they still plan to trial the puberty blockers in a 'substantial' number of youngsters - a move salmmed by campaigners as 'ethically unjustifiable'. Naomi Cunningham, chair of human-rights charity Sex Matters, said: "We understand why the NHS and Dr Hilary Cass believe that clinical trials of puberty blockers are necessary, but we would urge them to reconsider.
"Such trials are ethically unjustifiable, given the known risks of permanent damage to fertility, sexual functioning, and general health." Top doctors say not enough is known about the longer-term impacts of puberty blockers - but many using them go on to use cross-sex hormones which have more well-known consequences, such as potential loss of fertility. It comes as a report on Wednesday laid out NHS plans for the future of gender care, addressing recommendations in a damning review by top children’s doctor, Hilary Cass, in April.
A network of regional clinics will be set up by 2026. Most read in Health They will replace the flagship Tavistock after it was closed for being too medicalis.