NHS Investigation Finds Gender Care Failures at Brighton GP Clinic, 78 Children Prescribed Medication Inappropriately
A year-long NHS safety investigation has found that the WellBN clinic in Brighton inappropriately prescribed puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to 78 children, including some as young as 11, without proper clinical oversight. The inquiry, run by five independent clinicians appointed by NHS Sussex, found that none of the clinicians involved were professionally qualified to prescribe gender medications to minors, and that more than 20 children received medication without a face-to-face appointment. NHS England has ordered the clinic to stop new prescriptions for children and referred several clinicians to medical regulators, with one doctor suspended from NHS practice.
The WellBN clinic in Brighton, which opened a transgender health hub in 2020 and grew to around 2,000 registered patients of all ages, has been found to have provided gender medications to 78 children under 18 between 2023 and late 2025 in ways that fell 'far short of what could be considered safe or appropriate.' The inquiry found that 44 children aged 16 and under were prescribed puberty-suppressing drugs, including 12 children under 13, one of whom was aged 11, while 51 children aged 16 and under received cross-sex hormones. Clinicians lacked the specialist qualifications required, necessary blood tests were frequently not carried out, and there was an absence of input from endocrinologists or paediatric specialists. The report noted that 53 of the 78 cases reviewed had possible neuro-developmental issues such as autism or ADHD, raising concerns that a focus on gender medication may have overshadowed broader health needs. The clinic had partly filled a gap created by extremely long NHS waiting lists for specialist gender services, and investigators acknowledged staff had a 'genuine desire' to help distressed young patients. NHS England has directed the clinic to cease new child prescriptions, referred current and former clinicians to medical regulators, and most affected young patients have now been referred to specialist NHS gender services. The findings come amid a broader tightening of rules on gender medicine for minors in England following the 2024 Cass Review, which found the evidence base for such treatments to be 'remarkably weak.'
What's missing
The report acknowledges that actual harm to individual children was difficult to quantify partly due to poor record keeping; the longer-term health outcomes for the affected children remain unknown. It is also unclear what specific regulatory or disciplinary outcomes will follow for the referred clinicians beyond the one suspension noted.
How coverage differed
Both BBC sources and The Telegraph covered the story, but The Telegraph's headline — 'NHS clinic withdraws cross-sex drugs for 78 children' — emphasised the withdrawal of medications and used the term 'cross-sex drugs,' a framing more common in outlets critical of gender-affirming care. The BBC framing centred on systemic care failures and patient safety, while also including context about staff intentions and the role of NHS waiting list pressures.
What different sources said
- BBCCenter
Dozens of children put at risk after gender care failures at GP clinic, inquiry finds
- The TelegraphRight
NHS clinic withdraws cross-sex drugs for 78 children
- BBC Top StoriesCenter
Dozens of children put at risk after gender care failures at GP clinic, inquiry finds
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