SNP climbdown over puberty blockers

Scotland suspends drugs’ use in wake of Cass Review, despite earlier insistence of no ‘snap judgements’

SCOTLAND is to suspend the use of puberty blockers as a result of the Cass

Review, in a major about-turn by the SNP.

The Sandyford Clinic in Glasgow said that it would also no longer prescribe “gender-affirming hormones” to under- 18s.

The move follows intense scrutiny of methods at the Sandyford, which has been branded the “tartan Tavistock”, in the wake of the review by Hilary Cass, the esteemed paediatrician.

The SNP had previously said the Scottish

NHS would take time to review her findings, suggesting many parts of the damning Cass report for NHS England did not apply to Scotland.

As recently as Monday, ministers insisted there would be no “snap judgments” over whether to follow Cass and they backed clinicians prescribing the drugs, saying they followed “very high standards”.

Maree Todd, an SNP health minister, claimed puberty blockers “were never routinely prescribed” in Scotland. However, Dr Cass’s report warned that there was no credible evidence to suggest that puberty blockers were effective or safe. She could also not rule out that they could contribute to psychological or physical problems in later life, including infertility.

The move could lead to a rift with the SNP’S coalition partner, the Scottish Greens, who had criticised aspects of the Cass Review and support “affirmative” gender healthcare.

The decision means that under-18s will no longer be referred for prescriptions of puberty blockers or hormone treatments.

Young people could previously be prescribed puberty blockers, which stop physical changes, before then being put onto oestrogen or testosterone in an effort to align their bodies with their gender identity.

In a statement yesterday, Sandyford’s young person’s gender service said it had “paused” referrals to endocrinologists for puberty blockers “for any new patients assessed by our Young Person’s Gender Service”.

It added: “Patients aged 16 to 17 years old who have not been treated by Paediatric Endocrinology, but who are still seeking treatment for their gender incongruence, will no longer be prescribed gender-affirming hormone treatment until they are 18 years old.”

The suspension will not apply to existing patients, in line with the ban announced last month by NHS England.

The youngest known patient prescribed puberty blockers at Sandyford was just nine years old.

Meghan Gallacher, the Scottish Conservatives deputy leader, said: “This long-overdue decision should have been taken weeks ago when NHS England put a pause on the prescribing of puberty blockers.”