Halfpoint / Shutterstock.com
The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) has opened investigations into pharmacists reported to have been involved in non-commissioned prescribing of medicines for gender dysphoria or incongruence.
It follows the publication of a patient safety investigation, which reported that “potential harm” had been caused to 78 children and young people seeking support for gender dysphoria or incongruence from WellBN GP practice, which operates three surgeries across Brighton and Hove, East Sussex.
The investigation, commissioned by NHS Surrey and Sussex Integrated Care Board (ICB) and NHS England, was published in May 2026 and looked at prescribing of medications to children aged under 18 years that fell outside of NHS commissioned services, clinical policy and guidance.
In a statement to The Pharmaceutical Journal, Dionne Spence, chief enforcement officer at the GPhC, said: “The independent patient safety investigation into prescribing practices at WellBN GP practice in Brighton and Hove raises significant patient safety concerns.
“We opened investigations into registered pharmacists who are alleged to have been involved as soon as we were made aware of these concerns by NHS Surrey and Sussex [ICB], and have continued liaising closely with them.
“We are at the early stages of our investigation and it would not be appropriate to comment further at this stage.”
According to the ICB-commissioned investigation findings, there were 78 children and young people within its scope who attended 371 appointments with the practice. Of these, 313 of which were with GPs and 58 with other practitioners, including advanced nurse practitioners, paramedics and pharmacists.
In 20 cases, the findings revealed that gender medication was prescribed prior to a face-to-face appointment taking place. Of these cases, 16 GPs and 4 pharmacists were the prescriber.
The report acknowledged that practice staff had a “genuine desire and commitment to help distressed children/families who having sought help from the NHS had faced extensive delays in accessing NHS specialist gender dysphoria services”.
However, a statement by NHS Surrey and Sussex ICB said the investigation’s findings “support the concerns that WellBN GP practice was inappropriately prescribing medications to children and young people for the clinical indication of gender dysphoria”.
As a result, it concluded that “potential harm has been caused to the 78 children and young people who are within the scope of the investigation”, with ‘harm’ defined as relating to “absence of care that should have been provided and the potential impact of the care that has been provided”.
The investigation report said that “overall, the clinical approach to care – including oversight by the GP practice partners – fell far short of what could be considered safe or appropriate”, and that “the care provided to children and young people was not part of a commissioned NHS pathway of care”.
NHS Surrey and Sussex ICB added that the practice’s prescribing activities will be monitored over the next year.
“A number of former and current clinicians at the WellBN Practice have been referred for the purpose of further professional investigation, both through their relevant independent professional regulator (the General Medical Council for medical professionals and the General Pharmaceutical Council for pharmacists) and/or through the NHS professional standards mechanism,” its statement said.
Christopher Tibbs, regional medical director for NHS England in the South East, said: “NHS England has suspended one of the GPs identified in the report from working in general practice in the NHS in England while further investigations into their professional practice failures are completed.”
The investigation report has also been shared with Care Quality Commission (CQC), which has suspended the WellBN practice’s CQC rating while its own assessment of the provider is underway.
In a statement published on 11 June 2026, WellBN said: “Our priority remains providing compassionate, safe, and effective care for all patients. At the same time, we recognise the seriousness and sensitivity of the matters raised within the investigation.
“We are committed to working closely with NHS partners and regulators to address any recommendations identified within the report and to continue strengthening the services we provide.”
In December 2024, the government announced that a ban on prescribing puberty blockers to people aged under 18 years would be made indefinite, which followed the NHS stopping routine prescriptions of the drugs in March 2024 in response to an evidence review carried out by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.
