A Brighton father is suing the NHS, seeking a High Court review after his GP prescribed cross-sex hormones to his 16 year-old son for gender dysphoria, despite official guidance against their use. The Telegraph has the story.
He claims the treatment given to his son ran counter to the recommendations of the review by Dr. Hilary Cass, the paediatrician.
She concluded there was “remarkably weak” evidence to support the use of cross-sex hormones and puberty blockers in children with gender dysphoria.
The Cass Review warned the drugs put children on an affirmative pathway that might “change the trajectory of psychosexual and gender identity development”.
Following publication of the report, an emergency ban on puberty blockers was introduced in May this year by Victoria Atkins, the Conservative health secretary at the time.
Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary, made the ban permanent this month, restricting the sale or supply of puberty blockers for under-18s.
NHS England is at the same time reviewing the use of cross-sex hormones and warned providers to be “extremely cautious” when considering whether to refer young people under 18.
Cross-sex hormone therapy changes the physical sexual characteristics of a person, while puberty blockers delay the onset of puberty by suppressing the release of hormones.
Lawyers for the Brighton father said the city’s WellBN Clinic acted unlawfully in prescribing the cross-sex drugs and the NHS Sussex Integrated Care Board was wrong to fund the treatment.
Court documents state that Sam Hall, a GP at Brighton WellBN, prescribed the cross-sex hormones to Child O in October this year “without any diagnostic process compatible with the Cass Report nor NHS England’s clinical commissioning policies”.
Child O’s father is now seeking an interim order to prevent any further prescriptions being dispensed.
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