A controversial NHS clinic that led the way in prescribing puberty blockers to children who questioned their gender is being shut down.
The gender identity development service at Tavistock & Portman NHS trust will close next spring after a review found that it was not a “safe or viable long-term option”.
The clinic in north London has been accused of rushing teenagers into life-altering treatment on hormone-blocking drugs. Legal experts said the trust could now be sued by patients who felt they did not receive the right treatment.
Care will be handed over to children’s hospitals, which the NHS says will offer a more “holistic” approach with “strong links to mental health services”. From now on under-16s will be given puberty blockers on the NHS only as part of a clinical trial, allowing data to be accrued on their long-term effects.
The Tavistock clinic has been overwhelmed by a 20-fold increase in referrals in the past decade, leading to “unacceptable” waiting lists. More than 5,000 children were referred there last year, compared with 138 in 2010-11.