The government has announced another extension to the ban on the sale and supply of puberty blockers by private providers until 31 December.

The emergency ban, brought in by former health secretary Victoria Atkins in May, was implemented following publication of the Cass Review, which concluded that children and young people seeking NHS care for gender-related distress have been let down by the ‘remarkably weak evidence base’.

It makes it a criminal offence to supply puberty blockers outside the terms of the order.

Prior to the ban on private supply, NHS England had banned routine prescription of puberty blockers on the NHS for children with gender dysphoria, after a working group found there was not sufficient evidence to support their ‘safety or clinical effectiveness’.

In July, current health secretary Wes Streeting defended the ban, arguing children’s healthcare ‘must always be led by evidence’.

Mr Streeting wrote on X: ‘Cass Review found there is not enough evidence about the long-term impact of puberty blockers for gender incongruence to know whether they are safe or not, nor which children might benefit from them.

‘The evidence should have been established before they were ever prescribed.’

When the ban was first introduced, concerns were raised about its terms which make it a criminal offence to supply puberty blockers outside the terms of the order.

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society said it was 'extremely concerned' about the potential for prosecution of pharmacists supplying puberty blockers, adding that compared to other healthcare professionals involved, pharmacists were 'disproportionately' impacted by the risk of criminalisation.

It also suggested that fear of prosecution 'may inadvertently result in pharmacists declining to supply these medicines at all', even where it is allowed, which it said would 'impact negatively on patient care'.

And the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) also raised concerns about the impact of the ban on pharmacists and patients.

In response, a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has previously told The Pharmacist that 'enforcement of any sanctions against pharmacists for inadvertent dispensing [of puberty blockers] will be considered on a proportionate and case-by-case basis'.

They added: 'We are committed to ensuring children questioning their gender receive the best possible care.'

A version of this article first appeared on our sister title Healthcare Leader.