GP claims desperate trans kids are starving themselves to prevent puberty after UK blockers ban

Trans youth in England and Wales are reportedly starving themselves to try and stop the effects of puberty following the ban on puberty blockers in the UK, a GP has claimed.

A GP in South Wales alleged that under-18s in the region have begun taking extreme measures to try and force the physical effects of puberty to stop, arguing that the difficulty in accessing care is largely to blame.

A ban on puberty blocker prescriptions was implemented following the release of the Cass Review in April 2024, which analysed the nature of trans healthcare in England and Wales.

A ban on private prescriptions was implemented by former health secretary Victoria Atkins and eventually extended indefinitely by current health minister Wes Streeting.

The GP, who spoke to WalesOnline on the condition of anonymity, said that the government had “failed” an entire generation of trans children and contributing to poor mental health and extreme methods to stop puberty, with the article stating that children were “buying online homemade drugs or deliberately becoming anorexic.”

She further claimed that children experiencing gender dysphoria without access to treatment had begun dropping out of school and often feel suicidal. The medical professional also emphasised that the effects of puberty blockers are reversible.

“Blockers give a bit of space – it’s reversible but it stops all of that awful damage from puberty that is just significantly impacting on their mental health while they wait,” she said. “I don’t know of any other area of medicine [where] that has been done to us.”

The lack of access to puberty blockers has caused children as young as eight, she alleges, to feel hopeless. The GP also noted that accessing care is a gamble, since getting care is dependant on whether a GP is accepting or not.

“You are playing Russian roulette if you go to the GP because you may get a decent GP or you may get a GP who makes a safeguarding referral to social service who will investigate you for child neglect,” she further claimed.

“If you are 11, 12, 13 and starting to go through puberty you are desperate. You know that even if you got referred now the waiting lists are so long that you probably wouldn’t get there till you turn 18 so you’re just going to have to take matters into your own hands.”

The NHS confirmed it had funded £10 million puberty blockers trial as part of its implementation of the Cass Review, saying in early March that researchers at King’s College London would analyse several areas of gender care for under-18s.

It is expected to take place for just over two years and will involve analysing trans under-18s who undergo the treatment, with consent from their parents or guardians.