Gender identity services: GPhC publishes new resource for pharmacy professionals

The regulatory body sets out questions that pharmacy professionals should ask themselves when providing gender identity care 

The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) has produced a new resource to support pharmacists and pharmacy technicians who are providing pharmacy services to children and young people with gender incongruence or dysphoria.

It emphasises that pharmacy teams providing such services need to adhere to the standard process of clinical assessment and care provision they have been trained to take as healthcare professionals.

The starting point is that pharmacy professionals must provide compassionate, inclusive and person-centred care, within the current relevant legal and regulatory context.

“It’s essential that all patients have access to appropriate, high-quality and respectful healthcare, free from discrimination or bias,” the GPhC noted.

The GPhC observed that recent developments, such as the release of the final Cass report and various national policy updates, have raised complex questions for pharmacy professionals about prescriptions for puberty suppressing hormones, cross-sex hormones and related medicines for children and young people.

Although pharmacists are not expected to be prescribing in this context, the regulatory body recognises that there may be challenges and questions associated with the supply of medicines.

Earlier, the GPhC set out several issues to consider when providing any services to children and young people presenting with gender identity issues.

This time, it has outlined the associated questions that pharmacy professionals should consider when making decisions about the supply of medicines in this context, applicable to both in-person and online service provisions.

NHS England has commissioned an independent review, led by Dr Hilary Cass, to examine assessment, diagnosis, and care provision for children and young people presenting with gender identity issues. The review, currently underway, aims to offer guidance for the future of services in England.