NHS England has blocked new referrals for gender-affirming hormone therapy for under-18s, claiming they found insufficient evidence to support its use. Due to the public health service’s decision, people aged 16 and 17 will no longer be able to get new prescriptions for medication that several medical institutions have deemed “lifesaving”.

According to reports, gender-affirming hormones, such as testosterone and oestrogen, will no longer be prescribed to new patients who are 16 and 17, who were able to get them until now. NHS England said that people who currently hold a prescription for hormone replacement treatment will continue to receive it; however, clinicians have reportedly been instructed to review such prescriptions.

The decision follows recommendations found in the Cass Review, a controversial report into the provision of trans healthcare to under 18s in the UK. Authored by paediatrician Hilary Cass, the review also led to a ban being placed on prescribing puberty blockers to trans youth in the UK, a move which sparked widespread outrage.

The Cass Review has also faced significant criticism from international medical bodies, including the British Medical Association and the World Association for Transgender Health (WPATH). It has been widely criticised for not including relevant research and for contravening “standard practice in scientific evaluations of medical research”.

After the Cass review was published, NHS England commissioned its own review of all the available clinical evidence and concluded that the evidence did not back use of gender-affirming hormones for 16 and 17-year-olds.

Speaking about the decision, national medical director for specialised services at NHS England, James Palmer, said: “The NHS has exercised extreme caution when considering starting young people on this treatment – in accordance with the advice from Dr Cass – and as part of this action will now be pausing any new referrals for this treatment for 16- and 17-year-olds.

“Patients currently receiving these treatments on the NHS can continue but this will need to be reviewed individually with their clinical team,” Palmer said.

Several trans groups have denounced the NHS’s decision, with TransActual policy lead Tammy Hymas stating: “Banning new prescriptions of gender-affirming hormones for 16 and 17-year-olds is a profound attack on young people’s bodily autonomy with trans people yet again cruelly singled out by this government.”