Government bans new prescriptions of puberty blockers for under-18s

Before parliament was suspended for the UK election, new prescriptions for puberty blockers were banned for a three-month period for under-18s. Health Secretary Victoria Atkins said it would close the “loophole” of private prescriptions; many young trans people feel it closes the final door to healthcare access. But given the strict rules around pre-election communication on policy, and how quickly the bill came through, there are questions on whether it can be discussed during the campaign. The government can ban medicines via the Medicines Act 1968, created in the wake of the Thalidomide scandal, but seldom does. Tortoise asked the House of Commons and the Department for Health and Social Care for examples of this legislation being used to ban other medicines. Neither could provide any.