The Telegraph reports that at least 100 children have been put on puberty blockers since July 2022. Some of them are as young as 12 years old.
In July 2022, NHS England recommended, according to the outlet, that hormone blockers should only be prescribed as part of clinical trials "due to the significant uncertainties surrounding the use of hormone treatments."
Data shows that 83 children were put on puberty blockers under the NHS between July 2022 and 2023. A FOIA request revealed at least 17 more children have been prescribed the hormone treatment between July and October of this year, according to the outlet.
Puberty blockers prevent the surge of hormones that cause physical and neurological changes that occur during puberty.
Health officials sent a stark warning to the NHS and urged them to move with "extreme caution," claiming that children are being sent down an "irreversible" path.
Former Health Secretary Sajid Javid MP said the increase "risks more vulnerable children being harmed."
Dr. Hilary Cass, former president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, warned that puberty blockers could permanently disrupt brain development. She said that the drugs could cause neural circuits to rewire in an irreversible way, according to The Telegraph.
Furthermore, Dr. David Bell, a consultant psychiatrist and whistleblower at the Tavistock's Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS), said puberty blockers cause "considerable damage."
"It is not the case that the safety of puberty blockers is 'unknown.' We know quite a lot. There are serious concerns about bone mineralization and long-term cognitive effects," he said, according to the outlet.
"We know 98 percent of children starting puberty blockers go on to take opposite-sex hormones, and a very significant proportion of those go on to have surgery," he added. "They are being started on a pathway which is highly likely to be irreversible. Once you start them on that path, it creates a self-fulfilling prophecy."
