Scotland’s solely gender clinic for younger individuals has paused prescribing puberty blockers for brand new sufferers below 18 years previous after the Nationwide Well being Service (NHS) in England banned kids from receiving the gender remedy final month.
Puberty blockers are used to delay puberty modifications by stopping the physique from making intercourse hormones together with testosterone and estrogen. They are often prescribed to deal with gender dysphoria, the medical time period for psychological misery that outcomes from an incongruence between one’s intercourse assigned at delivery and one’s gender id.
The Sandyford Clinic, primarily based in Glasgow, introduced that new sufferers aged 16 and 17 “will not be prescribed gender affirming hormone remedy till they’re 18 years previous,” the clinic wrote in an replace on its web site. Current sufferers at present receiving remedy is not going to be affected.
NHS Higher Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC), the nationwide well being department that oversees the clinic, stated in an announcement Thursday that it had contacted sufferers this week to advise that the prescription of puberty hormone suppressants and gender affirming hormones to younger individuals was paused following analysis findings of NHS England that have been revealed in March.
The impartial report made for NHS England, which was led by Dr. Hilary Cass, a guide pediatrician and former President of the Royal School of Paediatrics and Little one Well being, stated that there was inadequate long-term proof of what occurs to youth who’re prescribed puberty blockers. In consequence, the NHS banned kids in England from receiving puberty blockers, solely offering the prescription to youth collaborating in medical analysis trials.
NHSGGC and NHS Lothian, one other space in Scotland, stated that “on medical recommendation,” they’d deferred beginning new sufferers on these therapies in mid-March in response to the place taken by NHS England and whereas ready for the publication of the Cass Evaluation. After the overview was revealed and with the assist of the Chief Medical Officer for Scotland, Sir Gregor Smith, the well being boards formally paused remedy.
Current sufferers “will proceed on remedy with shut monitoring and assist, as they want to and as guided by particular person medical assessments inside every service,” the native well being companies confirmed.
Dr. Emilia Crighton, NHSGGC Director of Public Well being, stated in an announcement that the Cass Evaluation findings are necessary, and the subsequent step is to “work with the Scottish Authorities and tutorial companions to generate proof that allows us to ship protected look after our sufferers.”
“We echo the views of Dr. Hilary Cass that toxicity round public debate is impacting the lives of younger individuals searching for the care of our service and doesn’t serve the groups working exhausting to care and assist them,” Crighton stated.
Each the well being companies and the Sandyford Clinic stated in statements that they have been dedicated to supporting younger individuals searching for gender remedy.
“We’re dedicated to offering the very best medical look after younger individuals accessing and understanding the misery that gender incongruence may cause,” the Sandyford Clinic stated. “Whereas this pause is in place, we are going to proceed to provide anybody who’s referred into the Younger Folks Gender Service the psychological assist that they require whereas we overview the pathways in keeping with the findings.”
TIME has reached out to NHSGGC and the Sandyford Clinic for remark and additional info.
