Selling or supplying puberty blockers to patients under the age of 18 will be deemed a criminal offense except under specific circumstances
The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) has alerted pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, and pharmacy owners via email regarding new emergency legislation governing the prescribing and supply of puberty-suppressing hormones, commonly known as ‘puberty blockers’, for children and young people under 18 in England, Wales, and Scotland.
The regulations apply to gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) analogues, used to suppress puberty as part of treating gender incongruence or gender dysphoria in individuals under 18.
Effective from 3 June 2024, new private prescriptions for GnRH analogues from prescribers in the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland who are not UK registered are banned from being dispensed in Great Britain for patients under 18.
The emergency ban on these medicines will remain in effect until September 3, 2024, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) announced on 29 May, stating that the action has been taken to address risks to “patient safety.”
However, patients already receiving these medicines on NHS or private prescriptions from a UK-registered prescriber can continue to access them.
Nevertheless, these patents and/or their families are strongly advised to meet with their prescribing clinician to fully understand the safety risks associated with the drugs when prescribed for puberty suppression purposes.
Furthermore, commencing from June 26, 2024, general practitioners (GPs) in England will only be permitted to prescribe GnRH analogues under certain conditions:
- The patient is 18 years or older.
- The patient is under 18, and the prescription is for a medical condition other than gender incongruence or gender dysphoria.
The NHS stopped the routine prescription of puberty blocker treatments to under-18s following the Cass Review into gender identity services.
Additionally, the government has implemented indefinite restrictions on the prescribing of these medications within NHS primary care in England, in line with NHS guidelines.
Additional details concerning the emergency restrictions on the use of GnRH analogues can be found in this NHS England guidance.
Sukhi Basra