An NHS inquiry into a gender care service linked to a Brighton GP finds that some children may have been harmed by deficiencies in assessment and monitoring. Multiple reports say the clinic withdrew cross-sex medications after concerns raised in the inquiry. The BBC reports that the inquiry concluded the treatment could have potentially harmed 78 children, including due to prescribing puberty-suppressing drugs or cross-sex hormones without required elements of care.
According to the coverage, some under-18s did not receive face-to-face appointments and did not consistently have key blood tests before or during treatment. Reports also describe that children as young as 12 were prescribed hormones as part of the service.
Other outlets characterize the findings as failures in the clinical process, including concerns about proper assessment and ongoing monitoring. The reports broadly agree that the inquiry’s conclusions led to changes to the clinic’s use of cross-sex drugs for children, though they differ in emphasis and wording about the extent of harm.
