Minutes leaked to North West Bylines confirm that NHSE has “no provision” to continue prescribing puberty blocking medicaction to U16 trans patients currenty at WellBN.
The minutes are from a meeting that took place between members of WellBN and Sussex ICB 14 October 2025.
After a change in NHS guidance WellBn Clinic in Sussex could not prescribe puberty blocking medication to new patients under 18 anymore, and recently they had to stop prescribing puberty blocking and gender affirming medication to all young people, as the result of an investigation carried out by NHSE (NHS England) and specifically the Sussex ICB (Integrated Care Board) into the prescribing, to make sure the practice still followed the letter of the law and official NHS guidance, which changed over the past year.
Prescriptions to stop, referral to mental health according to the minutes
The leaked minutes show that Dr Marshall-Andrews (WellBN) points out that patients have been waiting to see if there would be an offer of ongoing care that is acceptable to them. Is it being said that that will not happen?
Dr Andrew Hodson (NHS Sussex ICB) explains that the offer of care will consist of referrals to mental health and gender services. There is an assumption in the terms of reference that prescribing would need to be safely discontinued, and this would need to be done under the gender identity service. Dr Hodson states he feels the need to steer away from the assumption that there would be a possibility of continued prescribing.
Dr Marshall-Andrews explains that for the under 16s, these prescriptions have been initiated by other gender services, such as GIDs or Anne Health. The understanding has always been that GPs could continue the prescribing from these services.
Dr Hodson replies that NHSE’s stance is that there is no provision for this. He explains that the NHS prescribing of puberty blockers by WellBN will be stopped. He acknowledges that there is an issue with patients being ‘driven into’ private services.
Minutes show WellBN staff questioned the cessation of prescriptions
A staff member at WellBN is recorded to have questioned the claim of “no provision” for prescribing to continue:
Some of these patients have letters from NHSE telling them that prescribing could continue (during the time of the puberty blockers ban) by an NHS GP. These families have done exactly as told by NHSE. How can there now be no foundation for them to continue?
Dr Hodson is shown in the minutes to respond with:
This is a prescribing issue where the service is not commissioned to prescribe in the way it has. The outcomes for the under 16s, on the basis of the investigation, will be that there is no GMS [General Medical Service] service for this care. Challenging this could be done from the patient perspective.
In terms of registering patients for non-prescriptive care, if it is done within the contractual frame, [this] would not fall within the constraints of the investigation.
Dr Hodson said he will attempt to expedite the letters for the duty of candour. He claims it is ‘difficult’ for him to discuss the potential outcomes, and believes that there will be a likely outcome of deprescribing.
The desperate voice of a child in need
Laura has a 16 year old daughter (Olive) who is starving herself because of the mental strain of being denied her life saving medication (neither Laura nor Olive are their real names). I have been given permission by Laura and Olive to share a letter Olive wrote to Sussex ICB.
Hello everyone, I would just like to say a few things on behalf of myself and the children in this investigation.
Before the investigation of the IBC whilst I was in Dr. Sam Hall’s affirming care, I was the happiest I have ever been. I was doing well in school, I was healthy and happy with how I was living, and being able to have access to the medication which saved my life.
Whereas now, during the investigation, I cannot even eat because of how scared I am for my future, I cannot focus in school anymore because the constant thoughts of me even being alive in the future haunt me everyday. In the reality of this, if my life saving medication is taken off of me I have no doubt in my mind that I will end up taking my own life because of that.
You can sit there as snug as you want, reading off a script, practically giving out deathwishes to children.
You are not doing this out of any sense of care for the children under WellBN, you are doing this out of pure hate.
Dr. Sam Hall and my current doctors at WellBN have done none of the less but help me live the life which i am still here for, and you can try paint every doctor and parent as abusers for trying to help their children live.. but you will ALWAYS be the true abusers in this case.
LOOK at me, look at how I sound. You expect me to walk down the aisle at my wedding with a beard and a deep voice all because YOU don’t agree with the choices that I made in MY life.
If it was not for the care of Dr. Sam Hall and my choice to live MY life happily and transitioning to who I am today, I would not be alive right now.
I hope with every action you make in this investigation you think about ME and all the children you will ABUSE by taking away their medication. You ALL have blood on your hands and there will be far more to come based on the decisions YOU make. I hope all of you with children look at them tonight and reflect on how grateful you should be that a group like YOU ALL are not abusing them like you all are us.
You don’t even have the guts to speak to any of the children? You sent me my own letter because I am sixteen years old and you KNOW I’m capeable enough to be on this medication, so SPEAK TO ME, instead of sitting in on a meeting and taking away what’s keeping me alive, JUST because you don’t agree.
You make me sick, and karma is coming your way.
Thank you everyone and have a good evening, and to all the parents in this, do not let these monsters break your family apart. Keep fighting. Goodbye.
Hurt and anger
Laura says “If and when Olive takes her life, I hope the NHS and the IBC are willling to stand beside me in a coroners inquest and a public inquest, because believe me, I am not going anywhere!”
This level of hurt and anger is felt by all parents who have had WellBN help their children to “thrive and be happy” only to have it taken away by NHSE.
NHS Sussex ICB statement
In addition to the statement NHS Sussex ICB gave us previously and the information on their website, they gave us this statement in reply to the above article:
We are committed to supporting individuals and families following concerns raised about some prescribing for children and young people by WellBN in Brighton and Hove, that may fall outside of the statutory framework and associated national clinical policy and guidance. Working with NHS England, we have launched an independent investigation to determine the most appropriate ongoing care and treatment for these patients. As the process is underway and no individual next steps have yet been determined, it is not accurate to speculate on what these might be.
There is support available for young people and their families who are, or may be, affected by this investigation, including additional third sector support and a dedicated helpline. We encourage anyone included in the investigation and who has concerns, to get in touch.
