Wes Streeting to compel gender clinics to share puberty blocker data

NHS gender clinics must share data on children who received ‘trans-affirming care’ at the Tavistock, the Health Secretary has said.

Under new regulations due to come into effect later this month, clinics will no longer be able to withhold data from researchers studying the longer-term impact of puberty blockers on children.

The news comes shortly after it was announced there will be a pause on NHS England’s planned puberty blocker trial over safety and efficacy concerns.

Non-participatory

Wes Streeting told Parliament: “The study was planned to take place during the lifespan of the Cass review”. “However”, he added, “it is well documented that some clinics did not share data to allow the study to commence and the study was therefore not completed as planned”.

The Health Secretary explained: “The data linkage study is a retrospective study based on an analysis of routine data collected for a cohort of adults who, as children, were referred into a former model of NHS gender care, the Gender Identity Development Service.

“The study requires no active patient participation and instead relies on an analysis of information already held within health records and other nationally held databases.”

The change will give researchers access to data on about 9,000 people to help them analyse health problems resulting from the controversial medical interventions, including puberty-blocking drugs.

Illogical

Welcoming the announcement, Sex Matters’ Fiona McAnena said: “The health secretary’s move to activate the data linkage study will be welcomed by the many parents, clinicians and campaign groups who feel that gender-distressed children have been let down by the health service.

She added: “It made no sense to put hundreds more children through the brutality of puberty suppression when no one had followed up the thousands already treated in that way to find out how they were doing.”

Last week, following the pause in the puberty blocker trial, Institute Deputy Director Simon Calvert commented: “It is dangerous and immoral to use children as guinea pigs for drugs that we already know are harmful for them and useless at treating gender dysphoria.”

“We must hope and pray this outbreak of common sense is permanent and that the trial never goes ahead.”