NHS Report Finds WellBN Practice Prescribed Gender Drugs to 78 Children

An NHS investigation found that the WellBN practice in Brighton and Hove prescribed transgender drugs to 78 children across three Sussex clinics between January 2023 and December 2025. The report stated that doctors at the practice were not qualified or commissioned to provide gender identity services.

" The investigation documented that 44 of the 78 children received puberty blockers and 51 received cross-sex hormones.

One child aged 11 was prescribed puberty blockers, and 11 children received them at age 12. Fifty-eight children received their first gender medication before age 16, and 22 children were prescribed gender drugs before any face-to-face assessment. Reviewers identified 53 of the 78 children as having possible neurodevelopmental disorders, with no reference in records to consideration of this factor.

Only 23 appropriate consent forms were located among the 78 cases. A child's ability to consent was confirmed in six cases. For 50 children under 16, there was no express confirmation of Gillick competence.

Only four children were referred to fertility specialists. The report described "poor and disorganised record keeping" at the practice. Key information was scattered across emails and messaging systems rather than documented in medical notes.

Records contained the "inaccurate and misleading claim" that any impact of gender medication on fertility was completely reversible. Emails from a practice care coordinator advised families to avoid contact with social services regarding gender medication. Doctors from WellBN have been referred to the General Medical Council.

The findings come two years after the Cass Review concluded that children with gender distress should receive holistic assessment from specialist multidisciplinary teams. A permanent ban on puberty blockers for under-18s was implemented in 2024, subject to a trial.