The government's temporary ban on gonadotrophin-releasing hormone analogues has been extended until late November.

Initially, the ban on the sale and supply of puberty-suppressing hormones, known as ‘puberty blockers', to under-18s, was in place from 3 June to 3 September 2024.

And yesterday (22 August) it was renewed until 26 November 2024, as well as being extended to cover Northern Ireland from the 27 August.

It prohibits the sale or supply of gonadotrophin-releasing hormone analogues for gender incongruence or dysphoria to under 18s not already taking them, when prescribed by UK-registered prescribers.

And it prevents the sale and supply of these drugs from prescribers registered in the European Economic Area or Switzerland for any purposes to those under 18.

It sits alongside the NHS England ban on routine prescription of puberty blockers on the NHS for children with gender dysphoria, and 'indefinite restrictions’ on the prescribing of puberty blockers within NHS primary care.

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

However, the medicines can still be legitimately supplied to under-18s for very early onset of puberty (usually caused by another condition), to people under 18 with gender dysphoria already in treatment, and to people aged 18 and over.

But the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) has previously suggested that the order risks criminalising pharmacists who ‘unknowingly break the law through no fault of their own, such as when a patient misleads the pharmacist about their clinical condition, age or identity’.

The RPS also expressed concerns that the legislation could inadvertently result in pharmacists declining to supply puberty blockers in any circumstances for fear of prosecution, thus negatively affecting patient care.

In this week's announcement, the government highlighted the General Pharmaceutical Council's  resource for pharmacy professionals on supporting children and young people with gender incongruence or dysphoria.