The NHS will prescribe gender-changing hormones to teenagers as young as 16 at its youth gender clinics, new guidance has stated.
The organisation's new guidance around "cross-sex hormones" means the drugs can be given to teens as part of its Children and Young People Gender Service.
The new guidance is known as gender-affirming hormones (GAH) and would be for “young people with continuing gender incongruence [or] gender dysphoria from around their 16th birthday”, as long as they met certain eligibility criteria.
It states that staff must “ensure that the individual understands that there is limited clinical evidence on the effects and harms of prescribing GAH treatment below their 16th birthday; and also that GAH treatment is a significant decision with long term indications”.
Staff must “ensure that the individual understands that there is limited clinical evidence on the effects and harms of prescribing GAH treatment below their 16th birthday
PA/Getty
It later states that “NHS England will also consider the recommendations of the independent Cass Review in April 2024 in so far as those recommendations relate to this policy document”.
Former Health Minister, Jackie Doyle-Price, criticised the guidance on social media, saying that administering the cross-sex hormones should not be given to children.
She tweeted: "This kind of hormone treatment causes permanent loss of sexual function. It should never be administered to children for the purposes of gender reassignment.
“There are brave voices who have spoken openly about the permanent effects of cross-sex hormones.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
Former Health Minister, Jackie Doyle-Price, criticised the guidance on social media
Getty
“Their experience is enough to ban these treatments for anyone before the age of majority. No child can give informed consent to this treatment.”
This comes a week after the NHS announced an immediate ban on prescribing puberty blockers to under-18s, unless they are part of a clinical trial that is due to start later this year.
The government said it welcomed the “landmark decision”, adding it would help ensure care is based on evidence and is in the “best interests of the child”.
The move follows a public consultation and an interim policy on the issue, which stems from a 2020 NHS England review of gender identity services for under-18s.
This comes a week after the NHS announced an immediate ban on prescribing puberty blockers to under-18s
PA
The review, led by Dr Hilary Cass, followed a jump in referrals to the Gender Identity Development Service (Gids) run by the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust, which is set to close at the end of March.
In 2021/22, there were over 5,000 referrals to Gids, compared to just under 250 a decade earlier.
The clinic has come under repeated scrutiny – in February 2022, Dr Cass published a report which said there was a need to move away from one central unit, and recommended the creation of regional services to better support youngsters.
She also pointed to a lack of long-term evidence and data collection on what happens to children and young people who are prescribed medication.