Campaigners are Worried that Private Clinics Can Still Offer Puberty Blockers
While NHS England banned the prescription of puberty blockers, they are still available from private clinics, which campaigners say is a ‘wild-west operation.’
Campaigners have expressed concern that despite the NHS banning puberty blockers, they are still available via private clinics, which remain a “wild-west operation.”
On Tuesday, NHS England announced that it would no longer prescribe puberty suppressing hormones (PSH), which pause the physical changes of puberty, citing a lack of evidence that the drugs are safe. The drugs would remain available as part of clinical research trials.
NHS England said in its guidance, “We have concluded that there is not enough evidence to support the safety or clinical effectiveness of PSH to make the treatment routinely available at this time.”
However, puberty blockers are still available to minors via private clinics, prompting concerns from lawmakers and campaigners.
‘Rogue Private Sector Providers’
Bev Jackson, the cofounder of LGB Alliance, told The Epoch Times by email, “The experience of the last few years shows there is no shortage of activists who will advise parents to take their children to rogue private sector providers who are not interested in evidence-based medicine.”
Ms. Jackson said, “We hope most responsible parents will look at NHS England’s decision that puberty blockers are not a safe and effective treatment and will make the decision to follow best practice, not private practice.”
Former Prime Minister Liz Truss’s Health and Equality Acts (Amendment) Bill is going before the Commons on Friday for debate and would ban the prescription of puberty-suppressing drugs to gender-confused children, both privately and on the NHS.
LGB Alliance expressed its support for Ms. Truss’s bill, telling The Epoch Times that they have asked MPs to back it in order to close the loophole.
“We understand private members’ bills have a low probability of becoming law. LGB Alliance therefore urges the government to put in place rigorous legal proposals for banning harmful experimental medical procedures for minors,” Ms. Jackson said.
“Parents have been misled by unscrupulous activists to believe that blockers are best practice. We are relieved NHS England has recognized this is not the case, and hope that parents come to understand their children need evidence-based, neutral health care—not procedures proven to be ineffective while leading to negative, irreversible and lifelong effects,” she added.
Private Clinics a ‘Wild-West Operation’
Maya Forsater, executive director of Sex Matters, likewise expressed concern about the operation of private clinics, telling The Epoch Times by email that “private gender medicine remains a wild-west operation.”
