2024-05-31 16:15:51
Last month, following the Cass report, the General Pharmaceutical Council updated its guidance on the prescribing and supply of puberty-suppressing hormones https://www.pharmacyregulation.org/about-us/news-and-updates/regulate/gender-identity-services-children-and-young-people-interim-update-pharmacy-teams .
This week, the Government laid Regulations – the National Health Service (General Medical Services Contracts) (Prescriptiuon of Drugs etc.) (Amendment) Regulations 2024 – which will come into force on 26 June 2024. These Regulations will prevent GPs with General Medical Services contracts from prescribing on the NHS medicinal products that contain gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) analogues.
The Government has also now introduced the Medicines (Gonadotrophin-Releasing Hormone Analogues) (Emergency Prohibition) (England, Wales and Scotland) Order 2024, which will restrict the prescribing (including on private prescriptions) and supply of puberty-suppressing hormones to children and young people under 18 in England, Wales and Scotland. The emergency ban will last from 3 June to 3 September 2024. It will apply to prescriptions written by UK private prescribers and prescribers registered in the European Economic Area or Switzerland.