Children as young as 11 given puberty blockers in NHS gender care scandal

Children as young as 11 were given puberty blockers by a rogue GP practice that prescribed transgender drugs to 78 children it “may have harmed”, a damning NHS report has found.

Doctors at the WellBN practice in Brighton and Hove, which operate three clinics in Sussex, prescribed drugs to under 18’s with gender identity issues, from across the country.

However, the report found its medics were not qualified or commissioned to provide such services. Doctors from the clinic have now been referred to the medical governing body, the General Medical Council.

The investigation, released today, found transgender care at the practice "fell far short of what could be considered safe or appropriate".

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It discovered powerful gender drugs were prescribed to children and young people without proper specialist assessments and, in 22 instances, before children had even been seen face-to-face.

The report identified, “poor and disorganised record keeping” and that only 23 “appropriate consent forms” were located for the 78 cases.

It also found 53 of the 78 children and young people had possible neurodevelopmental disorders, but there was no reference to the GP’s considering this could have an impact on the child or young person’s gender distress.

The investigation, carried out between January 2023 and December 2025, found 44 children received puberty blockers - which pause natural puberty - and 51 received cross sex hormones - which induce the characteristics of the opposite sex such as facial hair, a deepened voice in natal females, or breast development, reduced muscle mass and reduced fertility in natal males.

The report found one child aged 11 had been prescribed puberty blockers by the practice, 11 children received puberty blockers aged 12. It also showed 58 of the 78 children received their first gender medication before the age of 16.

Reviewers said there had been a "wholly inadequate assessment" of children before medication was prescribed and concluded the practice was incapable of carrying out proper assessments because it lacked the range of specialists required by NHS gender services.

Investigators stressed staff had a "genuine desire and commitment to help distressed children and families" who were facing lengthy waits for NHS treatment.

But they concluded the absence of proper assessment risked a premature and inexorable commitment to a medical pathway with potentially irreversible consequences.
One of the most serious findings concerned consent.

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The report states: "There is considerable concern that medications were prescribed for children …without obtaining properly informed consent from the children/young people and their parents."

Only 23 fully completed consent forms could be located among the 78 cases reviewed.

A child or young person's ability to consent was confirmed in just six cases, while for 50 children under 16 there was no express confirmation of a child’s ability to understand the risks and benefits of the treatment, known as Gillick competence.

Investigators also found only four children had been referred to fertility specialists and criticised records containing what they described as the "inaccurate and misleading claim" that any impact of gender medication on fertility was completely reversible.

The report repeatedly criticised the practice's records, citing "poor and disorganised record keeping" and warning that key information was scattered across emails and messaging systems rather than properly documented in medical notes.

It also describes it as "of significant concern" that emails from a practice care coordinator advised families to avoid contact with social services in case questions were asked about gender medication.

Dr Louise Irvine, co-chair of the Clinical Advisory Network on Sex and Gender said: “This is a damning report on the activities of a “rogue” GP gender clinic which was dishing out hormones to children without competence or care as to the harm they were doing - not proper assessment, monitoring or record keeping or accountability.”

She added: “Quite rightly the GPs involved are being referred to the GMC. But what of the authorities that knew about this practice for years and did nothing to protect children from harm - the Integrated Care Board, the GMC and others? There must be accountability if lessons are to be learned.

No doubt there are other GPs who have been involved in similar practices and they must now take note and cease completely. Never again should we put children’s health and wellbeing at risk in the interests of a non-evidence based and dangerous ideology. And those medical institutions taken in by this ideology need to have a long hard look at themselves if they are to maintain public trust.”

The findings come two years after the landmark Cass Review concluded that children with gender distress should receive a holistic assessment from specialist multidisciplinary teams rather than being fast-tracked onto a medical pathway.

It found a “weak evidence base for puberty blockers and hormones in under 18’s and a lack of good quality evidence on the detrimental effects on bone health, fertility, sexual development, brain development, sexual function and future mental health.

The review, led by Baroness Hilary Cass, a paediatrician, said all under 18-s questioning their gender should be seen by a team of experts for conditions including mental health problems and neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism, before any treatment is considered.

This led to a ban on puberty blockers, which was made permanent by former health secretary Wes Streeting in 2024, subject to a controversial trial. Mr Streeting also urged “extreme caution” in prescribing cross-sex hormones to under 18s.

WellBN is the subject of multiple legal challenges from parents who believe their children were treated by its trans health hub without their knowledge or proper consent.

The clinic previously said it was “confident any young patient under 18 is assessed in accordance with good medical practice. It has defended its prescribing of hormones to under 18’s based on an “informed consent pathway” which it says sets out the “risks, potential side-effects and reversible and irreversible indented effects of hormone therapy.”

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